Eri Of The Mist
by 1xJoyfulNoisex1
Summary: Eri D. Monkey- the little-known daughter of the Pirate King. Problem being that the man'd gone off the map when she was born. But she wasn't going to go sit around- she wanted the One Piece, and she wanted to find that man, and she would. She'll find friends, she'll encounter enemies, and she might even get lost a few times. "You're holding the map the wrong way, you moron!"
1. Chapter 1

**Sup. For random's sake, please, call me Ecanus. One, because it's a cool name. Two, because he's the angel of inspirational thought. This would be my first published fanfic, and I hope you like. Because it's been sitting on my desktop for like forty months now.**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece_**

Luffy'd found the One Piece. He'd became the Pirate King, hell, the man'd even had a kid with his money-grubbing navigator. But everything changed after that- he went off the radar for good, but not before leaving behind his cryptic little message. "That One Piece- you think it's gone for good! It's still over there, somewhere, wherever I left it- don't quite remember where, though, shishishi! Maybe one of you will even find it. Maybe one of you will even surpass me! We'll just have to wait and find out."  
And so, the pirate era never did end. It just continued.  
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CHAPTER ONE: Enter: Eri D. Monkey!

_We walk alone, In the unknown,_

_We live to win another victory,_

_We are the young, dying sons,_

_We live to change the face of history,_

_So don't be afraid, it's the price we pay,_

_The only easy day was yesterday,_

_So hear our voice, we have a choice,_

_It's time to face it_

"ERI D. MONKEY ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!" The forest-haired woman slapped a hand down on the counter top, causing the teenager across from her to jump in her seat. Eri hadn't been doing anything wrong, to her- just staring out the window as Makino went off on one of her spontaneous rants about various things. The same thing she did every day around this time, just when the afternoon was fading into the evening and Makino was due for a I'm-an-old-woman-therefore-I-need-sleep nap. Usually, Makino was the sweetest person you'd ever find in Foosha- but a lack of water could make the greenest of plants wilt.

"No," Eri said bluntly, blinking. A plate of untouched salad- a mix of lettuce, rings of purple onion, small cherry tomatoes, and carrot slices- sat before her, and Makino pointed to it with a flourish. "You need to eat. You've got no meat on your bones." Eri threw her hands up in the air at the words, frustration coloring her tone. "Exactly! No MEAT!"she exclaimed, looking towards the heavens as if they'd give her guidance on the subject. Makino just didn't understand Eri's mind, simple as that.

"But... aren't you weight-conscious?" Another tally on her point-proven board, Eri thought distantly. "No! I'd like a feast if it came down to it!" Makino shrugged, and pulled the plate towar ds her, picking up the unused fork and stabbing a tomato with it. "Well you are pretty skinny, I just figured," Makino said, and popped the vegitable into her mouth. "I'm not skinny," Eri said, crinkling her nose, "I'm just healthy. Look at this!" The girl flexed her arm, a satisfied grin on her face as the muscle popped considerably. She'd trained for years, and it was the result. Makino waved an impatient hand, and disappeared into the backroom with a, "I'll get you some chicken." Eri smiled triumphantly to herself, and rested her chin on her fists, considerably happier than before. Vegetables were so... bland. Fruits, noodles, nuts, ESPECIALLY meats, give her anything besides greenery and she'd be perfectly fine. And correct her if she's wrong, but vegetables were what they fed to animals. Her last name might've been 'Monkey', but she was no animal.

...Besides, everyone knew monkeys ate bananas.

Eri shook her head rapidly to clear it. That wasn't what she needed to focus on. She was going to start her adventure today, at age 17, just like she'd told Juno-sensei at the dojo over the past few years. Juno had laughed it off, figuring that Eri was just going through a bit of teenage angst, but Eri was serious about it. She knew why her father'd set out to sea, and she'd had a brief kiss of it when she stowed away on a boat for a month, but not much else. Eri wanted to find him, because she'd never seen him before and she felt annoyed that everyone in the village could say that she looked just like her father, when she, his own daughter, couldn't. That One Piece at the Grand Line was an added bonus. Eri had what she needed- a pretty good sized ship (though it had no storage in its belly and was only a tad bigger than a dinghy), two barrels (one full of oranges and another of fresh water), oars just in case there was no wind, a general map of the East Blue (she'd get others as she went along), the clothes on her back and the hat on her head. All she wanted was this last feast from Makino's kitchen before she'd be off.

A hefty plate of fried chicken and steaming disks of potatoes was set before her, and Eri needed no further invitation to tuck in. "'Is ist 'ood, Ma'ino," Eri smiled through a mouthful, making the older woman roll her eyes. "Manners," Makino chided, though she didn't really care all that much. Eri reminded the woman too much of her father- she was used to it and would be sad to see it go.

She was halfway through her feast when the door burst open. "Ne, woman, give me enough beer for my buddies here!" a rowdy man shouted, pretty much shaking the entire building. Eri looked over her shoulder, cheeks bulging, to see a tall, well built guy of about thirty. He wasn't that good a looker- sallow yellow skin custom of a smoker, more wrinkles than should've been on a 30-year-old's face, blonde hair that was greased back, dull rheumy blue eyes, and to top it off, he was missing a few yellowed teeth in his mouth.

And he was followed by about 20 other men, all carrying weapons of some sort. They clobbered in as if they owned the place and sat themselves down, most at tables and a select few at the bar where Eri was currently enjoying her meal. She scooted sideways a bit as the creepy captain took his perch on the stool directly next to her. Makino, used to years of orders from pirates, just sighed and disappeared into the backroom for the second time this chapter.

"Hey, girl, are you gonna eat all that?" the greasy captain asked doubtfully, pointing his over sized finger at her plate. Eri immediately slid it out of his grasp, frowning in warning. "Yea, what about it?" she retorted, hackles rising. Eri had a habit of never trusting a man who reminded her of a weasel. Call it a sixth sense. The captain huffed a melodramatic sigh, and impeded even more into Eri's imaginary bubble. "Well I want it. So hand it over. You'll get fat."

Eri's eyebrows disappeared into her hat, and before you could say "You'll choke!", her food disappeared into her mouth, which was now bulging. "Not gunna get fat, doc says I got a good margolism." The girl swallowed quickly, and was only slightly surprised to see the captain glaring at her. "It's metabolism, stupid girl. And you just ate my dinner." A round of 'OOOOOHHHH's rang out around the bar, and Eri smiled, cheerfully oblivious.

"Makino-san made it for me though, so technically, I ate my own dinner," she replied, happy with her intellect for once. "I told you to give it to me. Therefore that was my dinner," the captain rumbled, suddenly fierce looking with a glare that could rival Makino's. "Just cause you told me don't mean I need to listen," Eri retorted, reaching for her glass of water. The captain's paw of a hand snaked out faster and snatched it faster than the blink of the eye, and suddenly, Eri's hat was dripping wet.

The bar seemed very quiet for once. The pirates were smirking, obviously thinking, "Oh, now she gets it!". Eri took off her hat a moment, and fanned it around, watcher droplets flying everywhere. She sat it back on her head again, the brim shading her eyes as she spoke. "Would you like to know where I got this hat?" she prompted, all traces of 'normal Eri' gone. Serious Eri was scarier than most marine admirals, and the captain felt uneasy as he laughed (sounding like a breathless teenager girl as he did it). "Why would I care?"

"This is my dad's hat. Want to know who my dad is?" Half of the crew in the bar suddenly went ape shit. "I KNOW WHERE THAT HAT IS FROM!" chorused all over the joint. Still, she waited with unending patience. "I don't care who he is, either," the captain retorted, though it sounded like he very much wanted to know who he was, crew mates reactions considered. Now, Eri usually wasn't one to boast- she hated braggarts more than anything- but she did know when to scare people. A cheeky grin spread her cheeks wide, puckering the scar she'd received on her right cheek from living in Logue town and talking about him to anyone she'd met. A scar she'd received from Smoker, that asshole.

"Ya should. He's the Pirate King. And you pretty much just spat at his shoes." Her fist connected with his face before anyone could blink, and the captain flew back, through the window and across the street to bonk his head on a pole. Mass chaos ensued, with his crew drawing their swords and pointing them defiantly at Eri. No matter how hard she could punch, it wasn't anything compared to a blade, surely.

Eri stood from her stool, rolling her shoulders. "Well that's kinda rude, pointing those at me like that," she pouted, 'serious Eri' gone. The crew sweatdropped. 'Bipolar?' they thought. The men charged, and Eri ducked low to the ground, swinging her feet out to trip the men in front. Which, in turn, fell the people behind them. Domino effect. "I may not be as strong as he is yet, but I can sure as hell kick your asses!" The girl grinned widely, and dodged to the side as a bullet whizzed by her ear.

"Yeesh, no respect for women," she tsked, and charged at the man with the smoking pistol. She ran in a zig zag path to evade the bullets, something she'd practiced so often it came second nature, and ducked to the ground, her hands only making contact briefly as she sent a flying double kick his way, effectively causing him to slam into the (rather hard) cement walls. It'd cracked by the time she was safely alighted on her feet again.

Eri rubbed her neck worriedly at the obvious state of disarray. Conveniently, Makino emerged from the backroom, and dropped the two barrels she was sporting loudly. Eri, who knew that this could be her end, evacuated so fast the only trace of her being there was the kicked up dust in the air. "Ja ne*!" she exclaimed over her shoulder, and headed to the dock.

"Welp. Oughta get goin, then," Eri murmured to herself, shimmying the noose up the post and throwing it aboard her 'ship'. It was so small in size that it didn't even need an anchor, and it was easy enough for her to release the sails. The 'moderate' (to her) wind caught it immediately, and the jerk the boat gave as it flew into the center of the harbor was enough to make Eri unstable on her feet. She laughed, hand on her hat, and made easy work of setting it in the direction of her first destination- Logue town.

She'd already been there. She knew it was infested with marine rats, but she also knew it was flooded with strong people- people that she would get to join her nonexistent crew. 10, maybe 15 people was all she was asking for- enough people to sail to the Grand Line. And, she had to admit, she really wanted to see the execution platform.

It took four days.

Four days of lying around, surrounded by an endless amount of seawater and checking her destination every hour. To say the least, Eri was ready to run to the nearest bar just to have someone to talk to. It was one of her faults- Eri was so social it hurt. Days on end with nothing but the compass to talk to literally killed her, to the point where she was dragging herself off the boat and forcing her unworked muscles to lasso the boat to the dock.

There hadn't even been a storm. Just bright, clear skies at day and dark indigo skies at night. The only form of entertainment Eri found was juggling. She had no idea how to, but forced herself to try to learn. It was the only thing she had to pass the time- and equally the only thing she couldn't grasp at all. The oranges just wouldn't obey her, and she couldn't count on one hand how many had fallen overboard.

Once her feet were on the shore, Eri was flying into town, an excitable smile on her face. Buildings, civilization, crew members, and most of all... "MESHIIII**!" she cried happily, slamming to a halt in front of a barbecue joint. She parted the blue curtains that served as the entrance and stepped inside, politely dropping her hat behind her so that it dangled from her neck by its string. Unsurprisingly, there were at least twenty people in. But they weren't rowdy, obviously not pirates, and they kept their conversations quiet. Several eyes swiveled surreptitiously her way before they glanced back at their table mates. Eri bounced up to the bar, plopping into a worn leather stool and pounding her fist on the counter top.

"Food, food, food, hey old man, can I have food now? Foooood~" she chanted. The 'old man' (who was really in his early 40's and wasn't all that old) raised an amused eyebrow, and finished up pouring a beer for a nearby patron. "Haven't you heard that patience is a virtue?" he remarked, yanking the washcloth off his shoulder to scrub away the puddle another customer had made. "Nope," Eri replied, popping the 'p'. The man let out an exasperated chuckle and abandoned the cleaning job to assemble her dinner. "What do you want?" he asked over his shoulder. "Don't care... I just want alot of it." He chuckled again at her response, and went to work, spooning fried rice into a large bowl with his left hand and plopping a slab of cooked and steaming meat onto a plate with his other. Eri watched, bemused, as he flit around like a psycho, throwing a scoop of fried cucumber here, a tankard of ale there, and dashing spices like a world class chef.

It took exactly 49.3 seconds for him to get the spread under her nose. Eri'd been watching the clock mounted on the wall- pretty accurate. She dug in, tearing a large chunk off of the meat with her teeth. Yes, she knew it was a bit... barbaric, but she could care less- she'd survived four days on nothing but apples and water, and she was literally shaking from withdrawal.

"... I guess you were hungry..." the man muttered, eyeing her as she finished the meat and went on to lift the bowl of rice to her lips, forgoing the chopsticks and going in with her face instead. She wasn't even chewing, just opening up her throat so that the food could spill down it. "Check it out, this kid's going to empty my kitchen!" the chef yelled suddenly, pointing a thin finger in her direction. The eyes of the customers once again flashed to her, but this time they didn't go away, watching in fascination as she ate more than thought possible. "Do you have two stomachs, girlie?" a man asked, mumbles of agreement following closely. Eri paused in her assault on the rice to give a Cheshire smile. "Three," she confessed, sounding very serious. In response, many laughed, the atmosphere in the joint lightening. A burly arm slapped over her shoulders, and she nearly dropped the bowl with the force of it. "This kid right here, she's a riot! What's your name, shortstack?" Eri paused yet again, vaguely irritated that her meal was interrupted for the second time.

Now, keep in mind, our dear protagonist has no idea what things constitute as 'shout it to the world' and what are better left as 'sew your lips shut to keep this one down'. Her mindset was much like her father's, innocent and utterly trustworthy. She didn't know it would cause an uproar- obviously, if her father was a pirate, and the king at that, pirates weren't all that bad, were they? Especially him, because Makino said he was a passive person, attacking those who attacked others and helping those in need. And she didn't think that people wouldn't know that- the marines were asshats, other pirates were even worse, and he'd never done anything to intentionally harm the innocent.

So it should be no surprise to you when she plopped her bowl down with a flourish and proudly proclaimed, "Eri D. Monkey, future Pirate Queen. Nice ta meetcha~!" But it was a surprise.

People choked on their drinks and slammed their tankards onto the tables, shooting furious glares her way. Or at least, most did. About six or seven looked unphased, silently sipping and watching with practiced, untrustworthy eyes as the majority of patrons stood up, any weapons on their body suddenly in hand. "D. MONKEY! THAT'S YOUR LAST NAME, HUH?" the man who'd previously wound his arm around her withdrew quickly, as if afraid to touch her.

Eri took a swig from her glass casually, unaware of the obviously furious civilians around her. "Yeeeaaaahhh, what's it to ya?" she drawled, blinking. Was everyone standing up to bow to her? But then why were they holding weapons? 'Is this some kind of "Heil Hitler" thing?' she wondered, her eyebrows knitting together. "MONKEY D. LUFFY HAS KILLED HUNDREDS! HE'S STOLEN FROM EVEN MORE! AND YOU WALTZ AROUND AS IF IT'S A GOOD THING!" the man roared, his loud voice causing her to cover her ears in pain.

"Itai***, you didn't have to yell. And it is a good thing- I'm proud of my father for standing up to those marine morons." She lifted a cucumber to her lips, about to eat it, when it was knocked out of her hands and onto the grimy floor. "Now what was that for?" she pouted, glaring at the man. "Your father is wanted for more than 400 million beli. And you calmly tell the world that you're going to follow in his footsteps? If there were marines around here, you'd be in jail," the barkeep suddenly piped up, looking much less welcoming than he did before. She cocked her head in confusion,"Well that's not very nice..." "Maybe we should just bring her to them ourselves!" one man yelled, choruses of agreement trailing after.

Eri wasn't all that bright, but she knew that she definitely didn't want to go to the marines. So she stood up, plopping her hat on her head as she did so. A quick getaway was her plan- and it would've been accomplished, if not for her being caught by the arm before she could make her escape. She looked behind her in surprise, and was met with the broad chest of some dude wearing a blue tee shirt, khaki pants, and brown man-style flip flops.

And suddenly she wasn't there anymore, but on the building's roof. Eri didn't know what to think- she was there, and then she wasn't. If there was movement in between, she hadn't felt it. The vice-like grip was still on her arm, but lessened slightly as she was spun to face her captor. Now that she could see better, there were more details. He had on a pair of black sunglasses resting on his tanned face, almost concealed by his silvery gray hair that hung in waves.

The most notable thing about his appearance was the set of daggers belted around his waist. There were six- three on each side- and they varied. One was short and barely there, likely a throwing knife, one was long and wickedly curvy with an embellished hilt, another was curved like a fishing hook. They were all uniquely different, as were the sheaths that held them- different textures, colors, designs, materials.

Eri didn't know what to make of the man, so she said the first thing that came to her dense mind. Which was, of course, blitheringly stupid. "So I see you like knives," she mumbled, poking one with a finger. The man jumped and seemed to glower at her through his sunglasses. "That's all you're going to say? No, 'thank you for saving my ass'?" the man retorted, jaw setting. Eri was slightly awed at his imposing figure- he was tall, at least 6'4, with a set of broad shoulders and a torso that was probably as chisled as the statue of David. Compared to him, Eri was a mouse. She couldn't ever hit higher than 5'3, and while she was more muscular than most girls, one of his thighs was probably bigger than her waist.

"Well I could've taken them, ya know? I didn't ask you to- but that was really cool, by the way. Are you a devil's fruit user? Cause that was super duper fast. Ne, how accurately can you throw those knives there? Why do ya got so many, got a knife fetish? That's a cool word, by the way. Fetish," she rambled, plopping down on the gravelled roof indian style and resting her elbows on her knees.

The man hesitated, then sat down across from her, stiff and unaccustomed to moseying around and sitting wherever he pleased. He seemed to ignore the fact that she was now talking about the questionable existance of flying horses when he said, "You're the daughter of the Pirate King?" Eri stopped her blabbing for a moment, and bobbed her head rapidly. "Yep, and I'm gonna be the Pirate Queen real soon too. Once I get a crew. Hey, you wanna be in my crew, Rojin-kun****?" The man's forehead creased, and he snapped, "I'm 19 years old, Mizetto*****. And my name is Raiden. And why the hell would I join your crew?"

Eri bounced hyperly, feeling little of the sharp jabs of the rocks into her legs. "Ne, ne, no need to get so upset over a simple mistake. And anyway, it's cause I'm gonna be the Pirate Queen. Who else can say 'hey, I'm in the Pirate Queen's crew!'? And anyway, I like you. Your knives are cool." Raiden threw his hands in the air, suddenly feeling exhausted. "I doubt a little girl like you could ever be the Pirate Queen, even if you are his daughter. Plus, I'm not a pirate- I'm just a civilian. Why would you want me?"

The girl sighed dramatically, looking out over the setting sun with a heartbroken expression on her face. It was all Raiden could do to hold himself back- he knew she was just pulling his leg, but it still didn't stop his heart from shattering to a billion pieces at the depressed look on her childlike face. She took her hat off her head, and had her eyes on it as she spoke, though her ebony locks kept him from seeing that. "I never knew him, my father. I just arrived on Makino-san's doorstep one day with the hat and a few short sentences on a piece of crumpled paper. I want to find him, that's my other goal. I want to show him just how good a pirate, just how strong, I've become. I work hard every day to see that this time will come. I need a crew to be a captain, and I need cool people like you. Original people, the kind that stand out from the others. I don't care if you're secretly the queen of Illusia, I want you on my side."

She gauged his expression carefully. Raiden looked like he was thinking about it, rubbing his forefinger continuously under his nose like he had a cold. Suddenly, he threw the finger in the air as if he'd just had an 'EUREKA!' moment. "If you can fight me and win, I'll join," he suggested, nodding to himself. That would decide if she was really worth his time. "Okiedokie, where?" Eri replied immediately, a self satisfied smirk on her lips as she set the hat back on her head.

Raiden grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto his back, ignoring her loud inquiries, and set off running. They arrived at the shore where her 'ship' was 'parked' in no time (pretty much), and he let her down. They faced off, only about six feet from each other, and Raiden slipped into a starter position while Eri bustled around in her endless back pocket a moment before unearthing the three parts of her metal staff. She noisily clinked the parts together and smiled fondly at it. It'd been made for her by a blacksmith for her birthday, and posed much more a threat than you'd think. It stood to her shoulders, as light as platinum and solid as steel. It was topped with a single, sharpened blade. "That's it?" Raiden laughed, but deep down, he was worried. This girl was the daughter of THE Pirate King. Who knew what she could do, what strings the man had pulled behind the scenes for her to be the strongest girl around? "Kay, we can start now," Eri said cheerfully, and they charged in unison.

Raiden pulled his #2 blade from it's sheath, and ducked under her staff to go for a slash (not a stab; didn't want her dead) to the abdomen. He was just a foot away from his target when she pretty much disappeared from view for a moment. 'So she's fast too, eh?' Raiden thought appreciatively. Now, he'd have a real party. He didn't have a devil's fruit like so many expected, he was just unearthly fast. Raiden didn't even need all that much training to get to this point either- it was just natural.

He spun, looking for Eri, and spotted her, twirling her staff too quick to really see. " Misuto Misuto no Shade!" she announced. Raiden gulped thickly, and glanced around at the rapidly fogging area. In a matter of seconds, it was so dense that he could barely see a hand in front of his face. 'Damn, she uses a devil's fruit,' he thought, readying blade #5 in his left hand. 'How can you hit an opponent you can't see?' Raiden dashed around blindly, twirling rapidly like he was some kind of ballerina. All he could do was keep his eyes open and hope the fog cleared soon.

Surprisingly, it did. The fog hadn't lasted a minute before fading as fast as it came.

But by that time, Raiden was battered. Eri hadn't used the blade of her staff, but she'd whacked him so fast and so much that by the time the mist was gone, Raiden was stumbling. His tanned calfs were already turning purple in numerous places, and he was pretty sure he had a broken rib or two. Despite this, he stopped his spinning to face the girl, who still had that idiotic grin on her face. "Why do you call that move 'shade'?" Raiden panted, blinking to clear his blurry eyes. She'd knocked his head more than once, and he was sure he'd have a monster migraine later.

"Cause it gives me 'shade' to kick your ass. I ate the Mist Mist fruit, which basically helps conceal. I can do a few minor illusions, and I can make fog. Pretty chill, eh?" Eri explained. Raiden sighed, straightening his back. He wasn't going to allow a child to push him around. Just because she was a devil fruit user didn't mean she was indestructible, and he had a surefire way of beating her. He ran at her, a determined set to his jaw. Eri didn't move, even when he was less than two feet away.

And she didn't move when he sent a shattering Haki punch to her chest. He jumped back, feeling like he'd just punched solid steel. "I think I broke something," he moaned, cradling his fist close to his chest. Still Eri didn't move, not even to blink. Something was off, that was for sure, and Raiden didn't like it. "What are you doing?" he asked cautiously. Suddenly, Eri disappeared. Like, poof. There one second, gone the next. No blur as if she'd ran away, but poof. Gone.

Raiden let out a shocked grunt. "I guess that was one of your illusions, right?" he assumed, fist flaring. The pain was definitely real. As if reading his mind, Eri's voice said, "I made you think I was standing in one place when actually I ducked and had you punch the staff. Hurts, right?" she laughed, and it sounded like it was coming from right behind him. He whirled, but nothing was there. A tap on his shoulder sent him turning again, and Eri was blinking at him, a calm look on her face.  
Without hesitation, he reeled back a fist and sent it into her face. Her face shattered around his fist like it was a shell, and poofed away. He growled in frustration, and was about to send out some sarcastic remarks when he felt the familiar press of cool metal against his neck and a body clinging onto his.

"Give up yet? I have your fishhook knife- it's wicked," Eri sang in his ear. Without hesitation, he stabbed his knife into the thigh of Eri. And nearly tugged his hair out as he heared a 'pop' sound and the fishhook knife buried itself blade-first into the pristine white sand. Raiden picked it up with a flourish and shoved it back in it's holster. "Is this how you beat your enemies? Annoy them to death?" He yelled to the empty air.

Suddenly, Eri was there, the real one. And she was going at it. She was punching, kicking, elbowing, headbutting. Moves he'd never seen before and never wanted to again. Once he came to his senses and felt the horrendous pain she was giving him, he began to fight back. They flashed around the beach in ways only speedy people could, their movements pretty much invisible to the naked eye. And then, Raiden (who was busy fending off a fist) was kicked where it counts.

He flew backwards, landing on his ass and immediately curling into the fetal position, chanting, "LOWBLOWLOWBLOWLOWBLOWLOWBLOW !" as loud as humanly possible. "Well yeah. I wasn't aiming for your face," Eri said, strolling over to his side and sitting. Raiden just groaned, partly in pain and partly because she was so moronic it wasn't even funny. "Join my crew now." Eri prodded him in the nose. "Join it."

This prodding and begging went on for about a minute more as Raiden gathered his bearings and sat up. He took a large breath in, and then yelled, "WILL YOU NOT TOUCH ME THERE!" Eri pouted, but drew her finger away. A moment of tense silence later, a smile different from her regular one decorated her lips. 'She's staring at me like I'm her next dessert,' Raiden thought, wide-eyed. He scooted backwards awkwardly, lips pressed together.

Eri followed after, the malicious smile on her face, and Raiden's growing horror had him biting back a girlish squeal. He froze, stupidly, and watched helplessly as she approached, swallowing thickly. And when she was exactly four inches from his face she yelled, "UKE RAI-RAI IS A CUTE RAI-RAI!" For a moment, there was nothing but silence and the waves lapping gently at the shore.

Raiden's brain then fully comprehended what she meant, and turned red as a cherry tomato. "I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT, ERO-MIZETTO******! WHAT PART OF THAT SPEAKS 'UKE' TO YOU?" he screamed, going in to tackle her to the ground. Eri laughed and rolled out of the way casually, hand on her hat. "Maa, maa, Raiden-chan, no need to get so defensive, I've no problems with your sexua-" before she could finish her sentence, Raiden had kicked her halfway across the island with all the force of the thunder gods before him. "Baka yarou*******..." he mumbled, rubbing his sore legs.

~~~~TIME SKIP-TO-MY-LOO~~~~

Eri gripped the side of the boat as Raiden threw his backpack aboard, causing it to bob and shift erratically. "That thing weighs more than you and I combined!" she complained loudly, pointing to it in disgust. Raiden just shook his head at her and wiggled the lasso free of its post. "Yeah and you eat more in one seating than you and I combined, but I don't say anything," he muttered, so low that she didn't hear.

It'd been three days since the battle, and they'd been forced to spend every waking moment together to make plans and such. Most of those waking moments were spent in one restaurant joint or another, and Eri seemed dead-set on trying every food choice on every menu through the entire town. Word had spread that the daughter of the Pirate King was around, but nobody knew who she was- as if the hat wasn't a dead giveaway. It was probably a good thing that it didn't- if it did, they'd be out on the sea by now with no plans whatsoever. Or maybe they'd even be at the bottom of it from the marines. Either way it went, it certainly wouldn't be a good thing, so the two companions were thankful that the inhabitants of Loguetown weren't very sharp.

"So you're a... knifesman," Eri giggled as Raiden hopped into the boat after his bag. Raiden shot her an irritated look and took the initiative to lower the sail. "You're still hung up on that?" Ever since he'd told her that, she'd laughed about it. Probably because people figured it wasn't as glorious as being a swordsman, but honestly, there were tons of swordsmen in the world. If you're a knifesman, you're original and you can actually throw your blades. Plus, Raiden was going to be the best (or maybe the only) in the world. He was exceptional at it, among other things. Had been trained years by his uncle- in knives, haki, capoeira, gymnastics, and practical defense. 'Remarkably, none of that seemed to help in a battle against her,' he thought, shooting Eri a dirty look that she didn't see.

Eri jumped up and settled herself atop the boxlike structure on the boat, an excitable grin on her face. "Onward!" she declared, brandishing a finger in some random direction. "Actually we're going west, not east," Raiden corrected, masking a chuckle at her put out face.

The sail caught the wind then, and the boat lurched towards the open sea. Eri clapped her feet together childishly, and Raiden massaged his temples before plopping down to lean against the mast. He had no doubt that this journey would be an arduously long and annoying one- especially with someone like that for a captain.

Somehow, he couldn't help but respect her. She was an idiot, sure, but she had no problem talking about her father, didn't seemed swayed by the numerous glares she got. She had a dream, something Raiden could connect with, and she was dead set on achieving it. She had that odd charisma that had him laughing along with her, even when it was something moronic and childish. On top of it all, Eri beat him, and she never gloated. She was remarkably strong, but she never showed it unless need be. Modest.

And Raiden figured that if he was to sail with someone, Eri would be the best person to sail with.

UTTERLY OBVIOUS FORESHADOWING FLASHFORWARD EXTRAORDINAIRE:

The pirates sat in the corner of the moonlit room, their headwear shading their faces from view. They weren't strictly on business, though it would be pretty nice if they could accomplish their goal. "Eight o' clock," the woman, who had her back to the wall, said. She then lifted her tankard to her lips to avoid suspicion as her partner took a quick sweep with his eyes behind him. His eyes locked on the person, and he quickly looked away again.

That man was extremely insignificant. He didn't look all that intimidating, tall and thin like he was stretched. His deep red hair was cut marine-style, almost a buzz, and he had a clean-shaven face. The clothing he wore- black pants and a blood red dress shirt- were pressed and neatly kept, and from what the man could see, he had no battle scars of any kind, his pale skin smooth and unblemished. Certainly not rugged enough to be a pirate, so he raised a questioning eyebrow at his comrade.  
"What? Boyfriend problems?" he guessed. The shade let up a bit for him to see his companion's wide, Cheshire grin. "Isn't it obvious, Rojin-kun? He's going to join our crew."

END OF UTTERLY OBVIOUS FORESHADOWING FLASHFORWARD EXTRAORDINAIRE

* Ja ne = See You!  
** Meshi = Food

*** Itai = Painful/Sore (AKA: Ow)  
**** Rojin = Old Man

***** Mizetto = Midget

****** Ero- Mizetto = Pervy Midget

******* Baka Yarou = You Fool

**Hopefully that wasn't too bad- a bit short for my tastes, but I think the next chapter'll be a bit longer. By the way, I'm going to attempt to make this as non-MarySue as possible. Oodles of gut-wrenching scenes to come, folks. Also- the pasts of the Straw Hats and Eri's crew are actually a bit similar... I have no real reason to this but, whatever. R+R~~**


	2. Chapter 2

**NOTE: I JUST FIGURED OUT THAT ILLUSIA IS IN THE WEST BLUE. HAS IT BECOME APPARENT THAT I SELDOM DO MY RESEARCH?**

CHAPTER TWO: The Magnificent Light

_The world was on fire and no one could save me but you,  
It's strange what desire will make foolish people do,  
I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you,  
And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you._

* * *

"You're not even listening, are you?" Raiden grumbled, pounding his fist on the floorboard to make his captain look at him. She was still perched atop the box, had been for the last three days. The only thing she ever did up there was grin at the horizon and sing ridiculous songs that were much too low for her obviously-soprano voice. "Ne, don't go breakin' the boat~" she sang the words to the tune of her latest infatuation, _Don't Go Breaking My Heart_.

"I said, we'll be docking in less than an hour," he shot back moodily, retracting his scope and shoving it into his pocket. Eri jumped up to her feet happily, before losing balance. "O-O-O- phew, didn't fall. That's good. Where were we going again?" Raiden comically slapped his forehead. In the span of five hours (since the last she'd asked) his captain'd already forgot their destination. 'I shouldn't really be surprised,' he thought. "Illusia. Since apparently I'm the queen of it."

Eri had a blank look on her face for a minute before she started chuckling. "Heheheh, I was just saying that to prove I didn't care," she defended. Raiden had to admit, that had been pretty funny. The moment she'd said it, he'd imagined himself in a frilly pink gown with a tiara perched precariously atop his head and a sparkly pink staff. Accepting fruits from some far off country and living in the lap of luxury with his hardworking king of a husband.

'Yeah... no,' he laughed mentally and crossed his arms against those thoughts. His imagination could rival that of Eri's, but he certainly wasn't going to let her know that. The only thing he had to hide behind was his 'tough guy' facade, when in reality he was probably just as much of an idiot as his companion. Of course, he never got lost like Eri did. That girl was terrible with direction- it was a miracle to him that she sailed straight to Loguetown without taking a 'detour'. Raiden leaned his head back until it banged against the harsh wood hard enough to make him muffle an 'ouch'. He'd had a friend like that, once upon a time. She wasn't a crazy power machine like Eri, wasn't as idiotic as Eri, but the two were so similar it hurt.

**Flashback Time**  
"No, the map says go north!" Fenny pointed a knobbly-knuckled finger at the small compass rose in the corner of the worn 'treasure map' she'd found. They were both twelve, and Fenny was trying to find the buried treasure, since pirating had always been her dream. Raiden was only along for the ride- Fenny was his best friend, and even though he thought negatively of pirates, he would follow her anywhere, even if she did become a pirate one day. It was he special gift, her ability to connect with anyone she met.

"LOOK! NORTH ISN'T WHEREVER THE MAP POINTS! YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THE SKY!" Raiden shouted. He snatched the yellowed page from her grasp, demonstrating with his body that if he turned backwards, the compass pointed north in the direction they'd come. Fenny angrily shoved her wickedly curled red hair away from her eyes, as she'd grown shaggy in the months she'd spent away from home. Fenny wasn't particularly in sync with her parents, enough to where she ran away and lived with the other 'homeless' on the outskirts of their village. She insisted that it was cool to live up in the trees, though if her bad posture cared to testify, that wasn't the case. He'd stolen her enough medicine for her back to down an army of elephants.

"Well then you do it, if you're so smart!" she snapped, crossing her thin arms over her chest. Raiden supressed a sigh; Fenny wasn't known for her unending patience. "Fine," he grunted, looking in the direction of the setting sun. He raised his watch, pointing the hour hand at the sun, and thought for a moment. "That way." He pointed to their right, and Fenny needed no further encouragement to barrel through the wall of plant.

Raiden sighed, and deliberated for a moment. He could get out of this now- he remembered the route back to town. But of course he wouldn't do that. He watched the hanging moss with a hesitant look before hearing a loud crash and ran after. Beyond the natural wall, Fenny had fallen on the root of a tree, and was faceplanted into the dirt. Her two stubby legs were still in the air, but they flopped down as he watched. "I think I got a dandelion in my teeth," Fenny muttered, springing to her feet. The front of her white tanktop was brown with earth and she had a smudge on her cheek. One of her dirty knees had sustained a large cut, and a dribble of blood was already making its way down her shin.

She smiled, widely. It was her custom, and no matter what, Raiden was always surprised. Smiling after you got hurt- it was something only the grown up, money-looting men did. And here Fenny was, his age, and a girl at that. Raiden admired her for her courage, her reckless courage that she had. Even in the simple matter of a dirty shirt and a cut knee, he was still awed. "You were right about the dandelion," Raiden said, not unkindly. Fenny scrubbed hastily at her otherwise perfectly white teeth with the collar of her shirt.  
**End of Flashback Time**

Raiden glanced at Eri again, out of the corner of his eye. She wasn't paying any attention to him, her bony body still doing its little 'excitement dance'. Her wide grin, the one that reminded him so much of Fenny's, was still in place, shining with a brightness that hurt his eyes. That kind of smile- it was that kind of smile that made him help her out of reach of the angry men. THat kind of smile that he seemed to be addicted to. Addicted to the assurance, the rich bravery that flew through every soul that dared to flash it. It was no ordinary smile to him, never had been. People smile, but they never smiled, not like that. The kind that looked like it physically hurt, that stretched your face to an unmeasurable degree. Yet it never hurt her, he thought.

**More Flashback Time**

"SOMEBODY GRAB HER! THAT LITTLE URCHIN STOLE MY PRODUCE!" the shop keep roared, stumbling out onto the steps of his grocery store. He had a straw broom in one hand and an orange in the other. And running at him with the force of a bullet train, was Fenny, a paper bag full to the brim of things he didn't really care to list flapping from one elbow. He could only blink as he was caught around the collar by her hand and dragged in her wake, his bare heels getting rush burn from the dirt that sped underfoot.

Fenny always was a thief, during the thirteen years he'd known her. And she was good at it, too- if she wanted, that shopkeeper could've never known she'd stolen it. But the runaway, in her eyes, was much funner with everyone screaming threats at her as she went. Indeed they did, civilians stopping as they made their market rounds to attempt to stop her. Some of them yelled jeering words, while others had strange smiles on their faces, as if they were used to it (they were) and relied on it to liven up the town that was usually so boring. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her brilliant grin.

Suddenly, she veered into a narrow alley between two brownstone buildings, and it was all he could do to not go flying into the ocean by gripping her arm with his hands. As it was, he knocked a hip against the corner of one of the buildings and would have that bruise for months. "Ow!" he yelped, though he couldn't help the mischievous smirk cross his lips. Time with Fenny was what gave him the 'bad boy' rep in the village- and he never regretted it.

Buildings gave way to trees as they crashed through the forest. Once she figured they were a good distance away, Fenny slowed to a stop and dropped Raiden like a rock, his head bonking onto the ground limply. "Jesus, why do you steal that stuff anyways? I know you have a stash of money somewhere around here," he laughed breathlessly, still a bit choked from his 'ride' into the forest. Fenny plopped down indian-style next to him, disentangling herself from the bag.

She rummaged around before producing a slightly bruised pear, which she catapulted his way, not looking to see if he'd caught it. He had, after an awkward twitch-and-stretch that set his arm on fire. "Actually, I'm Fenny. But people say there's a remarkable similarity," Fenny replied smartly, selecting an orange for herself and flinging the rest of the bag into the abyss behind her. "You didn't answer my question." Raiden bit into the pear, and a thin stream of juice tumbled down his chin. Fenny, meanwhile, was busy with her orange, her dirty fingernails stabbing into the peel and tugging until it gave way.

The orange's potent scent caught in his nose as the peel followed the bag into the darkness. "I stole them because it's fun. You should know me better than that, Rai-chaaaaaan~" she sang tauntingly, though with a goodnatured glint in her amber eyes. Raiden huffed and looked away, a blush creeping up his neck. That was the one drawback of being with Fenny- she made you feel so insignificant. "I've been training more at the dojo lately. My accuracy's really improved," he told her hopefully, taking another bite of his pear.

"What's your bullseye streak?" she asked, voice muffled by an orange slice... or three. "... A bullseye streak?" he wondered aloud, and instantly regretted it. Fenny snorted scathingly, with a roll of her eyes. "Number of times in a row you hit the center." Raiden put a finger to his cheek in thought. In all actuality, he'd never gotten a streak past two- but he wasn't going to tell her that. "... I don't remember." He faked disappointment, but his acting skills obviously needed improvement, for he could tell that she was a bit doubtful.

Fenny shrugged a noncommital shoulder. "Shame. I'm sure you'll get an even higher score this time." And smiled that million watt smile again.

**End of Flashback Time**

"OI! Help me with the sail, Rojin-kun!" Eri yelled, causing Raiden to lurch to his feet. She was dangling in the air, her hands gripping the course rope with two red hands. "How are you short enough to dangle from that?" Raiden muttered, taking the rope in her stead and pushing her away to fix the mess she'd made. Eri pouted at his brashness, but picked up the lasso and worked on securing the boat to the dock. "There. Honestly," Raiden sighed. For such brilliant power, his captain was about as idiotic as they come. The rope left Eri's hands and secured itself around the pole on the dock. "HA! FIRST GO, TOO!" Eri cheered, throwing a fist in the air.

Raiden didn't bother pointing out that it was literally two feet away from her, and jumped off the boat, holding out his hand for Eri to follow. "Jesus, your hands are ti-ny." He was right- her hand was dainty, about half the size of his own. "Actually, my name's Eri," Eri corrected cheerfully, making Raiden's feet stutter to a stop for a moment. 'That's just like-' he shook his head. He wouldn't think about her. Fenny was dead; he'd thought he'd moved on. It'd been two years. Yet obviously, some part of him wasn't going to let her go.

"Hey, c'mon, I want food!" Eri called. Somehow she'd gotten yards ahead of him, and was waving at him widely. Raiden jogged up to fall into step a beat behind her. They faced a town, a tad smaller than Loguetown, with chipped cobblestone as it's street and merchants bustling about, their packs heavy on their shoulders. Sitting in line with the horizon, a tall, glamourous mansion sprouted among the trees. And every person there looked somber, as if someone'd just died. Raiden was quiet- his own town had been like that when Fenny'd died; because no matter what, everyone loved the kleptomaniac like their own daughter. Eri, her hands in her pockets and her hat shading her eyes from view, strolled around aimlessly for about ten minutes, Raiden trailing after her like a lost puppy. He was a bit confused; after all, if Eri was anything like Fenny, she'd be spouting off random nonsense that nobody wanted to hear by now.

As if on cue, Eri blurted, "Ya'll got a bar?" A few strangers froze and gave her disbelieving looks. 'How dare you intervene in our depression?' Raiden imagined them saying, and supressed a smile. It was ridiculous to wallow in depression, as nothing ever got done and you just end up sad and pessimistic about everything. He'd known that those two years ago- a week after her death and he was bouncing around and training harder than ever. It was better to ignore the pain of loss than roll around in it.

"Down the street a few paces, on your left. Called the Hub. Pirates like yourselves like to hang around there," said one man, though he seemed reluctant. He was wizened and old, wrinkles crossing his face at various intervals. Raiden was slightly surprised that small, puckered scars wove in with the wrinkles as well- well, that explained how he knew they were pirates. He'd probably been one, once upon a time. He barely had enough time to slap a hand over Eri's mouth before she called him old, or ugly, or something only innocence would permit.

He tugged her down the street in accordance with the man's instructions, ignoring the fact that her tongue was currently coating his palm in saliva. When they both stood in front of the bar, Eri struggling in his arms, he let her go. She shot him a defiant glare that quickly faded as she noticed the bar. It was kind of hard to miss, though it didn't surprise him she took so long.

The Hub was, unlike the brick buildings surrounding it, made entirely of glass. Futuresque writing on a slab of silvery metal above the doorway annouced 'Hub', and other than that, it was blank of any decoration. If he concentrated through the frosted glass, he could see the outlines and colors of people within, hunched over their tankards and talking in low tones."Maybe I can pick up another crewmate here." Eri rubbed her hands together, as if she was plotting an evil scheme, and dashed through the arched entryway. Raiden worked himself into a menacing form, crossing his arms over his chest and setting his shoulders back, before continuing in. If you didn't look impressionable in a bar, you were bound to be picked on.

He looked around himself in wonder- this didn't look like a bar, much less a regular pirate hotspot. The floor was a lush green, and looked newly vaccumed. The walls were bare of any wanted posters, which was odd because Raiden knew not only pirates frequented bars. The tables and chairs, even the booths, were composed of brushed metal, steel or iron, he couldn't decide. And sitting at the bar, on a high stool, was Eri. She already had a tankard- bronze, of course- of some liquid, and was slapping her barmate on the back, laughing at something he'd said. Raiden, relieved that the seat next to her was empty, slipped into it, settling a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. The man she was talking to, some bulky, curly-haired blonde dude, glared at him, as if to say, 'damn you, you cockblock.'

Eri turned, grinning, and offered him her mug. "Try some! Lukas here let me borrow it, but I'm sure it's alright for you to take a sip, too, right?" she looked over her shoulder at the man dubbed 'Lukas' with a face so innocent that the man nodded hurridly. With a triumphant grin, Eri thrust the cup at Raiden's chest. "Whoa there. I can just get one of my own. OI, barkeep!" Eri drew the tankard away, a pout on her lips, as Raiden ordered a mug of rum.

"Ehhh, boring," she tsked, taking another gulp of the mysterious liquid in her cup. "I thought you were hungry?" Raiden raised an eyebrow, catching the mug sliding towards him before it could spill. Eri set a finger to her chin, thinking. "Yeah, you're right! Big ol' bowl of chicken rice, old guy!" The bartender got a wounded look on his face. "I'm only 27..." he mumbled, but turned to shout through the double (metal, of course) doors behind him.

Lukas then decided to pipe up. "So, where're you from, Eri-chan?" Raiden couldn't keep the faint aggrivation from showing on his face. Not quite a minute of knowing eachother, and he's already on first-name basis with her. "Dawn island!" Eri announced, swigging from the man's mug. Sure hope Lukas comes to terms that he's never going to get that back, Raiden thought in amusement. "Well, a traveler then!" Lukas said, raising his eyebrows. "Sure, if you wanna call it that." The barkeep sent her her bowl of chicken rice, still steaming. With a pleased grin, Eri picked up her spoon- er, ladel- and took a large scoop. "What would you call it?" Lukas asked, confused.

Raiden assessed his form, now. There was no doubt Eri would blurt out that she was going to be the Pirate Queen, and Raiden would probably be the one to save her ass. Lukas was well built, even larger than Raiden, with broad shoulders and ropy muscles down both arms. He wore plain bermuda shorts, made of some kind of terry cloth with no pockets, and there was a short sword strapped to his hip. Other than the sword, Raiden could see nothing on him that would realy prove difficult. "Pirate," Eri said, swallowing through the mouth of chicken rice. Lukas choked, on what Raiden hadn't a clue, and his dull brown eyes bugged.

"You're a pirate?" he quizzed, startled. When Eri nodded, his shocked face turned into an amused one. He let out a loud, racous guffaw that would shake the tables if they weren't bolted to the ground. "Honey, I've lived twenty years in this port, seen a countless amount of pirates you've never heard of that could rip your head off your shoulders before you could blink. And you're not one of those pirates- I sincerely doubt you're one at all."

Eri's eyes narrowed at the corners, something only someone who was closely studying her- which Raiden was- would notice. "I'm surprised you've lived twenty years in a port pirates use all the time, with that kind of doubt," she said, all joy drained from her voice. Raiden knew this was the other Eri- the intimidating one, the serious one, the one that probably had the ability to chill the very marrow of his bones. Lukas looked taken aback, and seemed to flinch away from her stare. "Think about it. One moment's hesitation- is this girl really a pirate- could kill you. I could kill you. That kind of doubt is what I hate the most- judging books by their covers. You've no clue what's in the middle- maybe it's more boringness, but maybe it's something interesting, something that could surprise you." She took another bite of rice, chewing at a slothlike speed. She seemed to not be aware that all sets of eyes- perhaps six, including Raiden's own- were on her, waiting with baited breath.

"Nice rant. But I didn't ask for one." Lukas got up, and began to stroll to the door, shoulders hunched. Probably didn't like to be showed up by a girl half his weight. Suddenly, the tip of her collapsable staff was imbedded in the rich carpet, the staff blocking the entrance at an angle. Lukas, who was just ready to cross the threshold, paused in shock and then whirled. Eri's arm was still extended, and she had a confident grin on her face.

"The moment you underestimate someone is the moment you lose the battle. Remember that." She stood, tugging Raiden to his feet as well without warning. His rum swished over the lip of his tankard and onto the bar as he hastily set it down. "We can come back at night. That's generally when the bad boys come out to play," Eri said knowledgably, even though Raiden figured she was guessing. He allowed her to pull him past Lukas, who was staring bug-eyed at her. She pulled her staff from the floor, and disassembled it as she walked. By the time the two were out in the fresh air again, her staff was back in the pocket.

"HEY WAIT! YOU DIDN'T PAY!" the barkeep hollered, and Eri replied with a bright smile, "Maybe later~"

* * *

"You're an idiot." They were both standing in front of the Hub again, only this time, the only illumination came from the sparse, flickering streetlights and the ever-reliable moon. The Hub looked even odder at night- no sunlight was glittering off its roof, and instead, the moonlight made it glow, almost omnisciently. The light inside the Hub was even dimmer than that of the streetlights- a few flickering candles that the two could barely see through the frosted glass sat at the tables, contrasting oddly with the futuristic atmosphere of the bar.

"How come?" Eri asked, puffing out her lower lip. "Because you're coming back to the place you dine-n-dashed at. Are you really so confident as to stroll in there and not get thrown out?" Raiden's hand was twitching, itching to facepalm. His forehead was still pink with a blood-blush from the numerous times he'd done it in the hour.

The entire time they waundered the streets, he'd been trying to coax her out of it- surely there was somewhere else she could hunt up some pirate buddies? But Eri was adamant. "I'm already behind schedule. I expected to get way more people at Loguetown," Eri'd said vehemently. Raiden had proceeded to explain that she was an idiot to think that she'd get any purchase there. The only people in Loguetown are the people who hate pirates, and the people who already are pirates. No gray area. Raiden'd pretended to be a hater, though his heart wasn't in it- why would you hate adventure? Why would you hate to be known around the world, however bad the reputation? Raiden didn't hate pirates, never had, but his idiot captain was a completely different story.

She wasn't even much of a pirate. Wasn't scary enough, when she was being herself. She was a girl he could probably ground to a pulp in hand-to-hand combat, though he'd loath to try. Maybe that was what drew him to her- what made him go easily, accept her freely, so quickly. Because she really wasn't a pirate so much as she was an adventurer. And this just happened to be another one of her adventures. So Raiden sucked it up, pushed his new flambouyant paperboy hat down on his forehead, and followed Eri into the joint.

She already had a gold coin pinched between two fingers- recompense for her earlier actions. As they passed the same bartender, his eyes narrowed in recognition, but before he could comment, the coin was flicked into his chest. Raiden was slightly surprised that he didn't continue the matter, but made no comment, and followed Eri closer. This time, she chose a booth in the far corner. Good for watching people, bad for being watched.

The pirates sat in the corner of the moonlit room, their headwear shading their faces from view. Raiden figured they weren't strictly on business, though it would be pretty nice if they could accomplish their goal. "Eight o' clock," Eri, who had her back to the wall, said. She then lifted her tankard to her lips to avoid suspicion as Raiden took a quick sweep with his eyes behind him. His eyes locked on the person, and he quickly looked away again.

That man was extremely insignificant. He didn't look all that intimidating, tall and thin like he was stretched. His deep red hair was cut marine-style, almost a buzz, and he had a clean-shaven face. The clothing he wore- black pants and a blood red dress shirt- were pressed and neatly kept, and from what the man could see, he had no battle scars of any kind, his pale skin smooth and unblemished. Certainly not rugged enough to be a pirate, so he raised a questioning eyebrow at his comrade.

"What? Boyfriend problems?" Raiden guessed. The flickering flame of the candle lit up a bit for him to see his companion's wide, Cheshire grin. "Isn't it obvious, Rojin-kun? He's going to join our crew." Raiden raised two doubtful eyebrows. The man he'd seen looked like a musician. Certainly not the likes of a pirate, being tall and gangly. "You sure about that? I mean, I'm pretty sure I could squash him into the ground with one hand."

Eri grinned again, the candle making her teeth appear a dim golden yellow. "Didn't I tell that one guy that I hate judging books by their covers?" she questioned, throwing her head innocently to the side. Raiden surreptitiously gulped; she looked sweet now, and she'd never been outright mean to him, but that could change in an instant. Women really were terrifying.

"Not judging. I mean, maybe he _can_ kick my ass," Raiden mumbled, sneaking another glance at the man. Now he was hunched over his drink, shoulders past his ears- it was as if he knew he was being watched. "I think we're gonna have to find out." Before Raiden could advise her, Eri was already shuffling over to the man, clasping onto one bony elbow with a dainty hand and appearing vulnerable. She gained his attention by plopping into the empty seat next to him, and grabbing his collar to whisper something in his ear.

Now, Raiden did facepalm. How blunt do you have to be to be considered a rival to Eri? The man grew pale, paler than his already ghastly skin tone. Without a word, he stood, and followed Eri. The two weaved in between tables and chairs, and Raiden scootched over, permitting space for the man to sit. He doubted he'd want to sit next to Eri if she said something that gave him that much of a reaction.

The mystery man predictably, albeit hesitantly, slid into the booth next to him, though his left leg was in the isle and barely half his butt was on the seat. Eri, completely calm and cheerful as ever, sat across from them. "So, introduce yourself," she prompted. "My name is William. William Suzuki. I play the cello." The man stuttered through his introduction gracelessly. Raiden could tell he was trying to remain stoic- and the color was returning to his cheeks a bit- but he was utterly failing, instead giving himself a shocked expression.

And he raised an eyebrow at the name. The most common English name, coupled with the most common Japanese surname. Something was amiss, and he caught Eri's eye. She had the same knowing glint in her eye that always entered Fenny's, the kind of glint that proved that they weren't as stupid as they seemed. It was then he realized that Eri was an idiot, but she wasn't that much of an idiot. She knew as well as he did that William wasn't telling the truth.

"Will-kun, then. I guess you have your reasons to keep on the DL- we have ours, so we won't press," Eri soothed, seeing him fidget. Raiden fought the urge to roll his eyes- the moment they were asail, he had no doubt she'd hammer Will with questions until he was rocking in the corner. "Why, exactly, did you call on me?" Will looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. Sweat was beading down his neck and into his shirt.

"Well because I want you on my crew. And I think you can hook us up with a boat." Her tone implied more than that- she wasn't thinking, she was ordering. Will visibly stiffened, his spine almost painfully erect and his knobby-knuckled hands clenched in his lap. "The boat, I can do. The crew, I can't. Surely you understand." Eri huffed, her cheeks puffing. "But I need a musician," she whined, "And anyway, I bet we can help you find her."

Will was biting his lip like a teenage girl watching her crush. "You sure about that?" he challenged. Raiden'd spotted it, then, and knew it was a done deal. There was hope in Will's flint-colored eyes, hope that hadn't been there before. 'Well they might not've been together, but they certainly know eachother,' Raiden thought, mentally stroking his invisible beard. "Positive. We're headed towards the Grand Line anyways. Maybe she'll be at one of the islands we visit."

Will's fists clenched; unclenched again. He exhaled loudly, before nodding, his back slumping tiredly. "If you don't fulfill your promise, Eri-chan, I will rip your legs from your body," he threatened dully. Eri only grinned, and somehow, it lightened the mood enough to where Will was soon drinking and laughing with them as if he'd been with them all along.

* * *

"So. Who's Will, really?" Raiden asked as the two walked down the beach towards the single dock, jutting into the water. William was long gone, to his home to pack his bags and make arrangements to get them a bigger ship. Now the two pirates were on their way to the boat, so they cold hopefully catch a few sparse hours of sleep. "I don't know his actual name, but my old sensei, Juno, knew his father. He also knew his entire family was searching for his sister. Will, apparently, was the cause of her escape from this island. She only said she was going to the Grand Line. They haven't heard anything from her other than that."

Raiden nodded thoughtfully. It would make sense to want to search for your sister, especially if you were the cause of her departure. "Who's Juno?" Raiden asked, gauging his captain's face carefully. It went from cheerful to wistful in .2 seconds and he was almost sorry he asked. "Juno-sensei taught me everything I know about my staff- hell, it was a present from him. He taught me martial arts, he told me everything about the world. He brought me along on trips to other islands, told me everything about the nature around us. I owe him everything."

His hand went to his #1 knife. It was his best knife- and equally his flashiest. Its hilt was gilded and covered in swirling green, white, and blue paths, done in jewels. Its blade was wavy, the length of his forearm. The knife wasn't so much a knife as it was a short sword- and he'd never thrown it, for fear that it could be harmed- but it was still his best. Inscribed on the blade was the Latin word _fides_ which meant loyalty, honor, guts, promise, trust.

Fenny had made it for him, a month before she'd been killed. It was much too expensive to have made with the pitiful pay she made working at a book shop, but she was an expert at B+E, and had stolen money for it from her parents' safe. And that's why it was his best knife- because of Fenny. No one had ever gone out of their way to be that nice to him- sure, Fenny hung out with him all the time, but to steal when you very well knew the consequences?

"I had a friend like that. Someone I owe everything to, I mean," Raiden said, and started to jog as he realized that Eri had already reached the dock. "Really? Was he like Juno-sensei? Did he share your knife fetish?" Eri inquired, jumping into the boat. It dipped and swayed erratically. She sat down against the side, curling her knees to her chest and watching him apprehensively.

Like she was some child waiting for story time. Raiden jumped in with her, and sat across from her, his neck supported awkwardly by the rim of the boat. The tilt it gave his head had him gazing into the indigo sky above him. The stars, sparkling proudly, seemed to encourage him.

He'd kept everything bottled up for so long. He hadn't said anything at her funeral, hadn't even shown emotion. He didn't talk about her, tried not to think of her, though that always ended up failing. He liked to pretend that she didn't exist at all, though in truth, she was the most important person in his life before she died. _You need to let it out sometime, _his mind chimed, _or you'll explode._

Did he tell her, his captain? Would she even care? But it was more than that, he realized. He didn't care if she listened. Didn't even care if she dropped asleep halfway through his story.

_I'm not going to forget her. _

"Fenny was always a really brave girl. Even when we were little kids- the first memory I have of her, when we were five, she knocked the wedge out from under the wheel of a fruit vendor's cart, and it rolled down the hill and mauled him over. The man was so angry, and he grabbed her and screeched at her for a solid ten minutes. But she just stood there, smirking the entire time, until he stopped, and then she just flounced away.

"I think she had to be brave. Her parents were both abusive, though different in their methods- her father would get physical any time she did anything wrong, and I don't think a day went by where she wasn't purple from a bruise caused by him. Her mother, on the other hand, was mental- telling her everything wrong with her, calling her words I'd never say, messing with her mind so bad that she came to me in tears when we were nine. I offered her a place at my house, but she declined- probably her pride speaking.

"I was the only person she told her problems to. We grew very close after that, and she took me on some of her adventures. Every adventure was different- find the buried treasure from a questionable map, see how far you could swim out into the ocean before freaking out and going back, stalk a shady looking person. And with every adventure, I learned more things about her- she couldn't navigate for shit, she had a deep fear of water even though she says she wants to sail the world, and she can be stealthier than a ninja.

"And the more I learned about her, the more I idolized her. She had this list of things she wanted to do, things that were pretty doubtful even for her. Float to another island in a barrel, learn how to kill someone with one finger, build a mansion on an obscure island in the Grand Line. But all these unimaginable things, for me, were easily attainable to her. Her resolve was so unshakable that I ended up believing in her too. She just knew that she would accomplish them.

"When we were both twelve, she ran away from home. I could understand why- even though her parents were loaded, they were right fine assholes. She lived in the trees, and never complained- even though she was always hunched over like an old lady from sleeping on a branch. It was just her thing- she never complained, hated to show weakness.

"When we were thirteen, she did something noble. Or at least, noble to me- the townsfolk thought it was stupid. There was this group of bandits, and they were hassling this old store owner. Fenny saw it, and being the person she is, immediately started yelling at them. Nasty things that I'd never repeat to anyone. She warded them off, since there were only three of them, but before they left, they warned her that when they got back to their leader, they'd come for her.

"She scoffed then. But I think she was worried. I think she felt that her end was coming a few months before it did- she spent every waking moment with me, complimenting me and helping me with my knife techniques. She even made me this"- he lifted knife #1- "knife, with money she stole from her parents. It was weird to me, but I didn't think anything of it- because she'd never told me about the encounter. I'd learned it from the store owner later.

"The bandits came at night, when we were fourteen. I didn't hear them, and apparently no one else did. Because the next morning, she was hanging by a handcuff from one of the rods of the execution tower, with her throat slit and her chest sliced more times than I can count. It was a big shock to everyone, because even though she was a nuisance, we all loved her. She brought life to the town, like she was some kind of magnificent light that warmed everyone. Nobody could hate her.

"Nearly everyone, even her parents, attended the funeral. Everyone expected me to do something, say something, at least cry, but I couldn't. It was like I was there, but I wasn't. And ever since, I've tried not to think about her. Tried to push everything down- never talked about her. But I just- can't anymore." Raiden choked, his throat closing again. But this time, he was keenly aware that this time, the tears did come.

The stars were still shining merrily at him. Eri hadn't made a peep the entire time, so he erected his head, wondering if she'd fallen asleep already. To his surprise, she was still watching him, her wide brown eyes blinking. Self-consciously, he lifted the collar of his shirt to erase the tracks from his cheeks. "What, you aren't going to say anything?" he said. To him, his voice sounded wobbly and bitter. What had he expected? Words of consolation? Eri didn't know Fenny. In fact, she was probably cursing herself for bringing along a man who couldn't handle his tears.

"You said she was a magnificent light?" Eri's voice was soft, softer than he'd expect out of her. _Forget it. She's probably laughing that I said that. _"Yeah," he muttered gruffly. "Then why are you crying?" she asked. Raiden frowned and stared at her. She looked honestly intrigued. "Because she was my friend," he answered. "If she was here, and she was the magnificent light you say she is, what do you think she'd say?" Eri challenged, tilting her head.

Raiden thought about Fenny. What she'd do if he showed this kind of weakness. A hysterical, half-sobbing laugh burst from his lips. "She'd tell me that tears are for children and prissy women." Eri's lips curled into a smile. "People that have that light about them are their own person. They boost everyone up at their own expense, and because of that, they shine. You spent years with her, and you have the nerve to cry at her memory? Is that what she wants?" Her voice had turned angry, now.

He bit the inside of his cheek. "I suppose not." Eri nodded stonily, then rested her chin on her knees. "You've spilled out everything you've kept inside. It's time to move on," she said, and with that, her eyes closed, and she was asleep.

Raiden bit back a laugh. _You tell me all this inspirational crap, and then you have yourself a snooze? _Still, he flopped onto the ground, putting his back to his captain. His cheek pressed into the wood that smelt like sawdust and salt, and this time, he didn't think about Fenny once before falling asleep.

That was probably what she wanted all along.

* * *

**So that was fun. I'm using Fenny for another story that I'm playing around with, if it interests you. Not up yet- but I'll keep you updated. Next chapter is all about dear 'Will', and the problems that face Illusia. R+R~~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three. Finally. I've had practically no time to write (...type?) this week. But it's out now, I guess, so all's right with the world. BY THE WAY SUPER IMPORTANT I NEED AN ACTUAL NAME FOR WILL BECAUSE HIS NAME RIGHT NOW ISN'T HIS REAL NAME AND THERE'S A REASON BUT ANYWAY I NEED SUGGESTIONS BECAUSE I'VE GOT NO CLUE OK NONE.**

**_DISCLAIMER: I FELT LIKE I NEEDED TO INCLUDE THAT I DON'T OWN ONE PIECE, ANY MUSIC, __OR LINKIN PARK. OR DOWNSTAIT._  
**

_CHAPTER THREE: Moonlight Sonata_

_I came to play,_

_There's a price to pay,_

_Time for you to get down on your knees and pray,_

_I came to play,_

_Say goodbye to the good old days,_

_They're never coming back,_

_Watch your future fade,_

_I came to play,_

_I came to play to get my dues paid,_

_I guess you had a dream,_

_But it cant be saved,_

_I came to play._

* * *

Eri awoke when her shoulder was shook. She didn't know exactly what time it was- only that it was much too early for normal human function. "Two more hours," she mumbled, and turned away from the hand. The owner of the hand sighed loudly, "If you get up now, we might actually be in time to meet Will-san." Eri didn't move. She had no interest in waking up at some absurd hour just to talk with William, of all people.

Suddenly, she was picked up by the collar of her shirt, and plunged into the freezing ocean. She immediately felt her body go slack, vulnerable to whomever was hanging her off the side of her boat. Her jaw unlocked, and a group of large bubbles escaped. She was jerked up before she could ingest the salty water, and resembled a half-drowned cat. Raiden gave her the stink eye as he threw her across the boat and onto the dock.

She sat up and took her hat off her head, shaking it out. "Cold," she complained when she was done, wrapping her arms around herself. Her teeth chattered loudly as Raiden crossed the gap of water with a jump and landed on his feet beside her. He grabbed her, yet again, by the collar of her shirt, and began to drag her calmly down the dock. Eri looked at the sun, and noticed that it was high in the sky. A bit odd, for being early in the morning.

"Hey, Rojin-kun, what time is it?" she asked, twisting in his grip until he dropped her. Eri got to her feet, jamming her hands into her pockets. "One in the afternoon," he grunted. Eri crinkled her nose; had she actually agreed to meet Will that early? "Oh, ok." The two were silent again. At least until Eri found another thing to talk about. "You cut your hair." It was true. His silver waves were gone, cut hastily into a buzz. Raiden ran his hand over his scalp, and made a face.

"I was trying to just give myself a trim. It didn't turn out well. So I cut it all off." Eri bobbed her head methodically. In all actuality, the new style suited him. Or at least, it made him look more menacing than before. Eri didn't think there was any boy out there who could wear shaggy hair and expect people to fear them. Unless it's Will, and Will couldn't give half a crap.

"How did you know Will-san could pull strings with the shipyard?" Raiden asked suddenly, looking at her from the corner of his eye. Eri stroked her imaginary beard. "Because. His daddy used to work there, and his daddy's a friend of Juno-sensei's. He can hook us up with a huge ship if I asked- but I think a medium sized will work for now," she explained. That was one of the main reasons she wanted to stop there- because Will had connections.

And, he was bomb at hand-to-hand combat.

"So we'll actually get to call it a ship without being looked at funny?" Raiden gaped sarcastically. Eri blinked blankly at him. "We got looked at funny?" she asked, eyebrows disappearing into her hat. "What, you didn't notice that stare Will-san gave us when we described it?" Raiden had honestly thought that Will's face had had a seizure- his forehead crinkled, his nose scrunched, his mouth contorted, and his head had popped backwards. "I thought he looked at everyone like that."  
Raiden waved it off. His captain was an idiot- or if he were to put it nicely, she had her moronic moments more than she had her normal moments.

The two entered the Hub loudly. They were in the midst of an argument that had started up a few minutes after they'd entered town. "Goddamn it, no, mermaids don't exist!" Raiden ran a hand over his scalp again. At one point, it would've messed up his hair. Now, there was little hair to mess up in the first place. "YES THEY DO~!" Eri sang, skipping up to the bar. Will was having a low conversation with the barkeep, but he'd stopped as soon as the pirates had entered.

"...Mermaids?" he raised an eyebrow. Eri nodded happily, and bounced in her seat. "I remember you. You didn't pay," the barkeeper scowled at Eri. She scratched her head, and when her hand went down, the hair was chuffed up. She made no move to fix it. "I gave you that coin later, just like you said!" she protested, cheeks puffing. Raiden plopped down next to her, crossing his arms on the counter. The barkeep seemed to be intimidated by him, and was casting surreptitious looks at him. Raiden grinned in self satisfaction. "She's right."

"Can we get down to business, now?" Will begged, looking slightly ruffled in a white puffer shirt and green corduroys. He'd obviously been in a hurry that morning. "Now, I talked to Willis, my father,-" he started, but was interrupted by Eri. "Do we call him Will, too?"

"No."

"Will the second, then."

"No. Technically I'd be Will the second."

"How about Will Numero Dos?"

"For God's sake. No. Changing it to Spanish doesn't do anything."

"Willie?"

Raiden snorted at Will's face- it was that scrunched up look again. "Just call him Willis. ANYWAY, he said the ship should be ready tomorrow. He also said that you'd made a sortof on-the-spot offer, so he's given you one he was already working on for someone else. So it may look a bit... funny." Eri's eyes seemed to glitter in their sockets. "Is it blue? No, wait, you said funny. Is the figurehead a clown?" She was practically hyperventilating in her excitement. "Clowns are terrifying, what are you talking about," Raiden muttered.

"How dull can you get? I mean, Juno-san did tell my father that you were a bit odd, but..." Will trailed off. Eri was ignoring him, instead eyeing the bounty of food in front of a man a few seats away. Before the two men knew it, Eri was perched on the stool directly next to the stranger, begging for food. "Juuuust a leeeeeg," she whined, fingers twitching towards one of the steaming dishes. The stranger slapped her hand away bluntly, fixing her with a scowl.

"What, with all the taxes king Lucas the II is putting on us?" The man snorted, as if she'd just proposed turtles could fly. "Who's that." Eri blinked blankly at the man. Will grabbed her around the collar and hauled her over to her original spot, setting her down with an irritated expression. "He's the original king's son. Right fine asshole," Will explained, his expression souring. (think of Lucas like king Louis in the French Revolution) "Well why don't you just go kick his ass, then?" Eri asked, head cocked to the side.

"...Because he's got a bunch of soldiers all over his palace?" "Oh hey, isn't that that one mansion thing we saw coming in here?" Raiden asked, a fleeting memory crossing his brain. The marble pillars, the spire rising up in the center, bricks painted a creamy white. A lavish garden with hedges trimmed in swirling designs visible to his own eye from a mile away. "Yes," Will confirmed, picking up his tankard and taking a long, hearty drink. "Hm. And that's why everyone's moping around?"  
Will just nodded.

"How long has this been going on?" Raiden asked curiously. "About three years. It's been hard- for all of us. So many businesses shut down- I think most of the poorer areas are just ghost towns now. Everyone used to be extremely prosperous, happy. There were no bums on the street asking for cash, no malnourished children hiding in the alleyways, no women selling themselves off to pay the bills. The only real places that stayed up are these- where travelers pass, or where people come to drown their worries out with alcohol. And the king doesn't care; he just takes, and takes, and soon enough, this entire kingdom's going to be sucked dry. The old king wouldn't do that; he was as generous as he was cowardly. But his son- he was always impudent, bold, a dictator from birth.

"Everyone dreaded the day when that man took over. They sort of predicted it- we lost a fair amount of our population the moment he took the crown. People even suspect that the current king killed his father- there was little evidence to suggest so, but I can tell you this." He leaned closer to the two, as if sharing a secret, a sad look on his face. "The king was only in his late fifties. He had no medical issues previous to his 'untimely death'. And if there was ever a man who wanted the king dead, it was his own son." Will sucked in a breath and leaned away. It obviously wasn't becoming to talk down the government.

The strange man had disappeared, and they were the only patrons left in the joint. "Well, I agree with Eri. He's an asshole. I don't see why we can't just mosey on over and kick him around a bit," Raiden said. Will stared at him, a horrified expression on his face. "I don't think you know what 'because he's got a bunch of soldiers all over his palace' means. It means, there is an elite on every corner over the entire mansion. With big guns. It means, that if you idiots would be stupid enough to try, you'd die."

Eri swung her feet excitedly, with a childish smile on her face. "Hey, Rojin-kun, it's our first adventure together. Whaddaya think?" Raiden's hand went to knife #1 when he said, "I think that it's a good idea." Will threw his hands in the air. "And what? I just sit here and hope you come back alive?" Eri reached over, and clapped him on the shoulder. "What? You're gonna lie and say you're NOT the best martial artist in Illusia? No, you can come with us, Mr. Dubious."

She jumped onto the ground and began to stroll towards the exit. Raiden fell into step behind her, fingers twitching in anticipation. "Well?" Eri said, turning to look at Will. Will bit his lip hesitantly- was he honestly going to follow a random girl he'd only met once into battle against the king? Just, at the drop of a hat? Because she said so? "... If I die, I'm going to haunt you," he mumbled, but shoved his hands into his pockets and followed the pirates out of the bar.  
The bartender blinked. "What?"

* * *

The mansion of the king was much more impressive up close. Swirling hedges formed a magnificent maze in front, short enough to view the small islands of vibrant flowers but tall enough for Eri to crouch behind. Will and Raiden, however... "Hey, your ass is in the air," Will pointed out. "Well I can't really help that, can I?" the man snapped.

"You could just lay down," Eri suggested cheerfully, peeking her head upwards as they crawled along. A blue uniform-clad soldier stood not four yards away, a large, intimidating looking gun clasped in his white gloved hands. "I don't want to get my shirt all dirty," Raiden mumbled. "I thought Will was the gay one?" Eri sounded confused. Both men turned a fierce shade of crimson, one from embarrassment and one from anger. "I'M NOT GAY!" they whisper/yelled in unison, then shot eachother furious glares.

"Not much farther now," Eri said, pointing a finger at the grand establishment in front of them. Two men guarded the double doors, and a few more were marching on the second floor wrap around deck. Suddenly, Eri dove for the steps. The guns pointed her way immediately, and the guard they just passed whirled in confusion. Will and Raiden clapped their hands to their heads and followed her.

Raiden jumped in the air to avoid a well-aimed shot at his ankle. "You're a moron, Mizetto," he grumbled loudly, to which she smirked at. A fine, purplish fog was settling over the area, and if Raiden knew this fog, he knew it didn't last all that long. "Go, now, do your super-duper martial arts thing," he said frantically to Will. The men launched themselves at the soldiers.

Raiden smoothly released knife # 6, a small throwing dagger, from its sheath and threw it. It nailed just below the man's throat, and he gurgled, blood bubbling and already beginning to trickle over his uniform as he staggered. Meanwhile, Will ducked under a badly aimed bullet and knocked the feet under the second soldier. He hit the deck hard, and Will raised a booted foot and slammed it into the man's abdomen. "You didn't need to kill the guy, you know," he added to Raiden.

Raiden shrugged and cleaned off knife #6 with the edge of his shirt, fear of getting dirty forgotten. The fog cleared, and the trio threw open the doors, running inside. Six guards that were milling about froze at the sight of them and yelled, aiming their weapons. Eri was already off, sliding between one officer's legs and rolling to her feet. Raiden slugged the man in the throat and he went down, gun discharging. He felt a harsh pain in his shoulder, but paid it no mind, and followed.

Will was practically running backwards, keeping his eye on the army of blue uniforms gathering in the lobby. "Hey, do you know where the guy even is?" Eri asked, craning her neck to stare at Will. "As long as we make it to the top floor in one piece, you've got nothing to worry about," he reassured. "Then... which way to the top floor?" she gestured widely to the fork in the hallway. "Beats me. Split up." Will shrugged. Raiden threw his hands in the air, but Eri was already branching off to the left.

"You're coming with me, Chero*," he said, grabbing Will by the collar and hauling him down the right. "Are you sure it's a good idea to leave her alone like that? I mean, she doesn't look too strong..." Will mumbled. He knew that she'd been trained by Juno, but a girl that small couldn't pack that much of a kick, right? "I think you should have some faith in your captain." Raiden's voice was flat, and Will felt like an idiot. He shrugged the man's hand off and continued on himself, hands jammed in his pockets and shoulders raised to his ears.

"You gonna stop yet." Will blinked. He'd come to a dead end. The corridor they were in was dimly lit, the royal blue paint chipping on the walls. Obviously, they'd went the wrong way. "Well, U-turn, I guess," he said. Raiden was just standing there. "I think it's not gonna be that easy." Will turned, to see the angry faces of ten gun-weilding soldiers. He sighed, sending Raiden a long, piercing look. "First competition ever, Naifu**. Person who gets the most gone wins." Raiden just nodded, knife #4 ready in his hands.

They charged.

Eri stood at another fork. Her hallway had ended in an elevator, and she'd gone to the third floor, just as Will'd said, but now, she was more than lost. She stood in a hallway bare of anything save a few doors with dust on their knobs and the frayed gray carpeting. "For a rich guy, he really sucks at upkeep," she said aloud, taking the right. Eri whistled- juggling, no. Whistling, gladly. One hallway morphed into another, and another.

She stopped whistling when she heard harsh clomping boots on the floor. Two, judging by the unsyncronization of the footsteps. Hoping the darkness of the corridor would shield her, she squished herself against the wall, ignoring the plaster smell that made her want to sneeze. The men passed by, unaware, talking in low tones. "Three idiots. Yeah, I know. He's lucky that he's got that copter on the roof- did you see what happened to those two guys in front? Yeesh. Wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of one of those guys."

"What about the chick? Haven't they found her yet?" His companion shook his head. "I don't know if she can really do anything- but I hear that the two guys are gone again, too. Best to keep on your toes." The other guy nodded in ascent, and they continued, unaware that Eri was snickering behind her hand not three yards behind them. She dashed off, glad that she'd forgotten to put sandals on. Bare feet are the best feet.

She went the way the two soldiers had appeared from, and the hallway immediately lightened. "That's good. I thought I'd reach my eighties in there."

"You've got a little blood on your face," Raiden said, pointing at his companion with an amused smirk on his face. His face was pretty much smothered with the stuff. Will reached up a hand and clapped it to his cheek. It came away red. "Not mine. Can you say the same for you?" Will knew Raiden couldn't. Not when he'd seen the man suffer a direct hit to the cranium with the butt of a gun. A trail of scarlet was freely streaming into the man's white shirt, sullying it even further.

"Yeah? Well your fancy-pants shirt is ripped to shreds." That was true as well; one sleeve was ripped away, half the buttons were gone, and a long diagonal slice (courtesy of someone's pocketknife) cut the fabric in half. Thankfully it'd only made a shallow gash in Will's otherwise perfectly spotless white skin. "Shut up," he said. "We need to find Eri." Raiden shrugged and fell into step behind Will. The musician led the two down the hall to the fork they were in before, and they took the left, this time. They rode the elevator in a tense silence, a worried one. Eri was all on her own, was what Will was worried about. Eri would destroy the building and cost them millions of beli; that was Raiden.

And they faced a three-way branch of hallways. "OK let's think reasonably about this-" Will started, but Raiden just strode pass him and took the center. "You can take the left," the man called out over his shoulder, and disappeared into the unlit corridor. "Idiot. Splitting us all up like that," Will muttered, already stomping to the left. He didn't like taking orders, but he'd already been about to take the left anyway. Or at least, that's what he told himself.

His hallway was lighter than Raiden's. He noticed that immediately. The carpet was worn and light at its center, as if it'd been used regularly, and the wallpaper was perfectly done. Will bit his lip- he didn't want to call out to Raiden, for two reasons. The most threatening would be the thought that there were soldiers around every corner. And the other? Well, Will didn't want to seem weak, or needy. He could protect Eri much better than that idiot, with his stupid midget swords.

With more confidence, Will started determinedly down the hallway, and played it by ear. Every branching hallway that looked freshly worn, he'd enter, and follow. Soon enough, he was bound to find the elevator.

Eri'd reached the last possible room. It stood before her grander than the others, artful designs carved into it's dark wood. The doorknob was practically blinding her, and deepset jewels in it's metal gave way to just how rich the man really was. 'How should I approach this?' she wondered, 'Should I sneak in and catch him by surprise?...'

'Nah.'

She twisted the doorknob, and it slid smoothly. She pushed the door open cautiously, ready to duck if someone's dagger 'accidentally' came tomahawking her way. "Suge..." she gaped in awe. The throne room was sparkling- literally. The gold wallpaper, with pale white swirling lines running through it, was shimmering, and the white marble was glittering as if they'd painted the stuff on.

Three large, but simple, steps led up to the throne, which was gilded. Its cushions were red velvet, and obviously meant for a heavier set man, for it was much larger than any chair she'd ever seen. Behind the chair were blood red curtains, as if he moved his chair and watched a play on his off days.

The throne was empty, but still flanked with two guards, that leveled their weapons at her with deadpans. She looked about quickly, but the kind wasn't there. However, the curtains seemed a little shady. She dodged a bullet aimed at her neck, and frowned. "That could've hit me," she said. But the men didn't react, just shot again. She moved aside as the bullet passed, and it skimmed her shoulder, leaving a slight cut.

Eri bolted towards them, ducking and weaving between the bullets just as Juno had taught her. "As long as you move aside and twist your body, the bullet can't hit you," he'd said, demonstrating. It was faster than her eyes could keep up with, even done by a man in his late sixties. And still, her tactics weren't even close to rivaling her teachers. It bothered her, but he'd just pat her on the head and said, "You'll never come across an opponent like me here."

But she wasn't there. He'd alwayd expected her to stick around Dawn Island, if not simply because Eri loved Makino and hated to leave her. Eri smirked and tilted her head to the side. Another shot fired not a hair width's away from her neck. She enjoyed this; playing with death. Eri knew that she wouldn't die, so why not make taunting them a little funner?

She reached them now, and could see their blank expressions turn to ones of restrained fear, anger. Eri played an illusion, what she called the 'Dupe- licate'. It was exactly how it sounded; as in, she put a false her there, and the real her went and downed the enemy. They seemed to fall for it, long enough for her to steal the man on the right's gun and slam it down on his head, hard enough to leave a sizable dent in his head but not hard enough to kill him. He staggered, then fell to the ground. His gun followed, and she ducked behind the curtains before his partner could see her.

Backstage wasn't as glamorous as the front- cold cement walls, boxes of crates that smelt like sawdust and ammonia, a plastic tub of flashy accessories that didn't look at all cheap, and a rack of clothing (ranging from black leather pants to beautiful emerald dresses) that spanned from wall to wall.

And the king was directly in front of her, wielding a large broadsword and a fierce expression. He wasn't a fat man, as she had previously expected, but he was... shapes. A square torso, obviously worked out from the abs that just wanted to burst from his white Frenchman's puffer shirt. A triangular face, thin chinned and eyes too far apart for his head. Circular shoulder muscles that, yet again, were straining from his shirt.

His blue cravat was wrapped around his oddly shaped head like a bandana, except the material was so thin that it hardly held back his yellow blonde hair and made him look like a child playing dress-up. She took a moment to laugh at that, and he shot her a weirded-out expression. "I am the king, and I demand you and your-" he started, in a voice that practically shook the building. Eri held up a 'waaaaaiiiiittttt' finger, and finished her giggles before composing herself.

"Dude, are you trying to emanate Naruto? Cause if you are, that's totally not your look." The king glared at her with his slanted eyes, making him look even funnier. "I'll have you know, this is the latest fashion," he snapped. Then he charged her dramatically, sword raised above his head like he was planning on hacking her straight down the middle. Eri casually sidestepped, but was taken by surprise when the sword flashed out to the side.

She narrowly avoided its blade by twisting backwards. Even then, her shirt was cut clear down the middle, hanging like a jacket. "Oi, I'm not into that kinda stuff, if that's what you're planning on," Eri said hurriedly. The king looked absolutely murderous- his cravat had fallen off, and he'd shrugged off his jacket- now he looked like a real swordsman, like in the Three Musketeers. "You, visitors here, nothing but pirate scum, come here and attack me, with no reasonable excuse. I'll not let you live another day!"

His sword glinted wickedly as he sliced out at her. She hollowed her stomach. Her staff wasn't in her pocket; she'd lost it some time during their period of entry and now. "Misuto Misuto no Shade!" she called quickly. The dense purple fog appeared, and while the king was looking around, confused, Eri darted forward and sent a bone-shattering punch to his solar plexus. The man flew back, sword still gripped in his hand, and through the curtains.

Eri followed, not really knowing what else to do. Once she'd parted the curtains, she saw something she hadn't expected to see. The king had Will and Raiden, sword biting into their necks, a smug grin on his triangle face that made his cheeks stretch farther than his jawline. "Come one step further, and I'll off your friends faster than you can say 'mercy'."

She bit the inside of her cheek. Eri loathed to say so, but she was indeed worried. Will looked greener than the emerald ring that shined on the king's pinkie finger, never a good sign. Distant irritation was the present emotion on Raiden's face, and his fingers were inching clandestinely towards his belt, going unnoticed by the king. His eyes shot to her, and he gave her an almost unintelligible incline of his head.

That was all she needed. "I suppose you wouldn't have a problem with that, would you?" she said, crossing her arms. Raiden's fingers closed around the hilt of knife #1, and she knew he was ready to go. "I mean, you did kill your daddy." Eri stepped closer, deliberately. The king's eyes were frantic, but his jaw was set. He pressed the sword closer to her companions' necks in warning.

"A man who kills his own father is nothing but the scum of the earth, a different scum from pirates. You tell me I have no reasonable excuse, yet it seems like this is more than reasonable. Sucking your peoples' money from them when you've already got more than enough in your account. Murdering, and lying, and covering it up." Another step, and she was at the set of stairs. "It all amounts to nothing in the end. The trillions you have right now... they'll be useless in Hell."

The king's blade went to slash her friends' necks, but Raiden arched, knife #1 gripped in his hands. Scarlet sprayed his face as his knife cut through the king's puffer shirt and left a hefty gash in its wake. The king stumbled a step, and Will ducked under the blade, foot wheeling to knock the king onto the ground. It didn't connect, as the king had jumped at the last moment.

Lucas charged at her, a ferocious roar ripping its way out of his throat. She let him come, patiently, though every muscle was tensed. Once he was within striking distance, he faked to the left and went at her right, air rippling around his sword as it flashed towards her. She reached out an arm to protect her side, having no time for anything else, and the blade bit through her forearm with the speed of a bullet.

Thankfully, though he had speed, he didn't have the strength to cut through her bone. Still, she let out an unearthly shriek, and kicked out a foot reflexively. It nailed him in the stomach, and he backed up a step, his sword dripping her blood onto the ground. Eri lifted her hand distractedly- she could literally see white from the wound she'd sustained. It hurt like a word that Makino would behead her for saying.

Rage colored his voice as he growled, "My father was nothing but a coward, someone undeserving of his title. Nothing but a piece of trash with a crown worth more than his piteous life. I've no doubt he went to Hell and you, you can _join him there._" Eri was on him before he even finished. She blocked his sword with her hands this time as he slashed. She could actually see his sword now, enough to clap it between her hands before it could reach her shoulder.

Her fingers curled tightly around the blade. "Your father was a better man than you'll ever be. I got no doubt he's chilling with the angels, But your ultimate destination...well, I guess you could say it's the same as mine." She personally had no connection to his father, had no idea how he'd ruled. But he didn't kill his father, he didn't steal from his people, and that was good enough for her. Eri clenched her hands tightly, and the blade bent to one side, though it didn't break.

_Shocker, _she thought. The monster strength was for Juno, or perhaps Raiden. She was just one big trickster, and Will, well, that remained to be seen.

For a fraction of a second, Eri thought she saw a flash of silver, and then, the king was slumping to the floor, a blade protruding from his gut. Raiden stood behind him, jaw set, but a wry grin on his face. "Personally, I'm an atheist. Your Heaven and Hell talk was getting dull."

He knelt and pulled out his knife, wiping it on the king's sleeve. "I didn't kill him. There was nothing vital in the knife's path. Though, what a pansy, down after one go." There was a loud thump behind them, and the two whirled. Slumped against one of the walls was the soldier she hadn't knocked out, looking at the king in surprise. He showed his palms as he picked his way towards the king.

After assuring that yes, he was alive, but just unconscious, the guard straightened, a smirk on his face. "I do have to thank you for that. We're required by contract to protect any king while we're in service- if I'd known I'd get this brat halfway through my job, I'd have quit. But I've got a family, you know." Suddenly, his face hardened. "I'll give you about ten minutes to evacuate before I call the marines. Though, I do suppose I'm grateful you didn't kill him. This," - he nudged the king with the toe of his boot- "is my only source of income."

Eri grinned like a Cheshire cat, and the trio departed with no words between them. They flew down the hallways that Will led them through, and in under three minutes, they faced the elevator. "_I __want to press the button," _Eri hissed, slapping Raiden's hand away and pressing the 'down' arrow before he could beat her to it. The button glowed orange, and Raiden growled at her, childishly flicking her forehead. To which she flicked back.

"Are we _five_?" Will asked, exasperated, "What's so great about a stupid button?" Raiden and Eri threw him two icy looks that made him back up a few steps in fear. Then they went back to their banter. "_I _get button duty. Get your own job, asshole," Eri snapped, reaching out and pinching the knifeman's upper arm. Raiden grunted in pain and pulled the hair that winged out from under her hat in response. "I'm the first mate, I should get some privileges!" he argued vehemently.

"I'm the captain, so... I could really use some meat right now! Ha!" Will nearly facepalmed. She had literally thought of nothing to back up her 'I'm the captain' statement. And had said the first thing that came to her mind. _Meat, _he thought, appalled, _what is it about meat? _"Baka Mizetto, that didn't make sense!" Raiden yelled at her, clasping her nose between two of his fingers and tugging.

"Your face doesn't make any sense!" she protested, sounding congested at the same time. The elevator dinged, announcing its arrival, and the two hardly seemed to notice it. Will forcefully pushed the bickering toddlers into the small, suspended tin can, and pressed the close button. He calmly reached to press the 'lobby' button, when he was pushed onto the floor.

"_MY BUTTON, GODDAMN IT!" _Eri screeched, one hand stretching for the button and the other slapped over Raiden's face in an attempt to hold him back. She finally stabbed the button with a finger, and they dropped to the ground, rolling around and tugging at one another's hair, face, ears. Will scooted to the corner, depression forming an almost visible cloud over his head.

"You've got no redeemable traits!" Raiden was yelling, a fistful of ebony hair clenched in his fists. "DO SO! I CAN KICK YOUR ASS!" She tugged his lips until they stretched far enough to rival a duck's. "That's a load of bullshit if I've ever heard some!" he said around her fingers, and slapped a hand over her wrists, tugging her arm away from him.

"POOP CAN TALK?!" Eri jumped up, battle forgotten, eyes sparkling in amazement. "My poop must be mute. It doesn't talk to me much. But I talk to myself a lot. Does that count?" Raiden sprang to his feet, rolling his eyes. "Crap doesn't talk, dumbass. It was an _expression._" Eri blinked blankly, and he just waved a dismissive hand. Then, the two seemed to notice the hunkered down Will in the corner.

"Hey, whatcha doin' down there?" Eri questioned curiously, as the elevator rang again. It shuddered to a stop, and the doors slid open. Eri reached out, grabbed Will's wrist, and then the trio of pirates were running again, only sprinting faster as the officers yelled to stop. They burst through the doors into the now fading sunlight, and jumped over the decorative hedges.

"Which way's the shipyard?" Raiden asked frantically, jabbing Will in the spine to get his attention. "Just follow me," Will said, and veered to the left. The pirates followed mutely, and as the treeline came closer to them, so did the bullets whizzing by their heads. The trio ducked into the comfort of the forest, and Will crashed through the underbrush loudly, leaving a trail for the others to follow.

It felt like they were going down a steep hill. Eri was fairly certain she almost cracked an ankle more than once as they raced down like they had wolves snapping at their heels. It left an obvious trail for the soldiers to follow, but none of them were worried about it at the moment. Soldiers were yelling to each other behind them, sounding closer and closer each time, and it was really wearing it their nerves.

"This way now," Will whispered, and knelt. He brushed aside a false bush impatiently, and unearthed a rudimentary grate, with some sort of symbol printed on each bar. He curled his fingers around two bars, and tugged. It gave way with a protesting squeak, and all three jerked their heads up nervously. "Down the hatch," Will said, unaware of his pun, and slipped into the darkness gracefully, as if he did this all the time.

Eri followed, and then, Raiden, who thought to take the time and shimmy the plant back over the grate before fully dropping into the dank darkness. It smelt like sewage rats and bad river water, and was completely dark. He couldn't see a hand in front of his face, and as a consequence, bopped Eri on the back of her head while he was reaching to find out exactly where he was.

Will's gray eyes seemed to glow in the dark, the only light they had. He jingled around in his pocket a moment before unearthing a small pocket flashlight, which he turned on with an audible click. He looked strangely at ease as they made their way to an unknown destination. "Do you make it a habit to sneak in underground tunnels? A bit of an odd hobby," Raiden noted, a sarcastic smile on his face.

"My great uncle made the blueprints of this kingdom's water system. Let me have em before he died. This is small now, but when we go up further, it'll open up. And once that happens... plug your noses. We've got a way to go." He pressed on, not bothering to look behind him. There was a strange sort of confidence in him now. He must've really studied those blueprints.

* * *

"When I said that I should get some privileges, I didn't mean these kind of privileges," Raiden called through the door. He got no answer, not that he expected one. Eri was singing so loud that she probably couldn't hear a missile hit the house. He wasn't a peeper, if that's what you're wondering; he'd been given the 'privilege' of holding her towel for her while she showered.

There was a perfectly usable towel rack in that bathroom. She just did it to spite him.

"_Cause I'm only a crack, in this castle of glass, hardly anything left for you to see~" _Eri finished. Soon after, her shower went silent, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been standing outside her door for the past twenty minutes. The door handle jiggled, and Eri's tan arm shot out of the crack she'd made. Raiden handed her the towel with a terse expression.

"I'm not doing this again," he said as she emerged, towel wrapped around her thin torso. Her hat was on her wet head, the only thing she didn't part with. He averted his eyes casually. "Boo. I always wanted my own towel holder. It's the same as a butler," Eri replied, pouting. Raiden chose to ignore her, and sped faster for the staircase before she could find another thing he could do that she 'always wanted'.

"Yeahbyehavefun."

Eri now stood alone in the dimly lit hall. She turned to face the isle of doors, and scratched her head. "Now... which room has clothes in it?" She opened the first quietly- only barrels upon barrels upon crates. Another was just empty, there was one that had some sort of cat in it, a room with only a bed in it, one with someone sleeping on a hammock.

And then, the guest bedroom. She entered this one, and combed through the tall bureau to her left. There was a measly amount of clothing there, but Eri could deal. She was too flat for a bra, and who needed underwear anyways? Eri pulled out a few items at random, and threw them on.

Now clothed, she left the guest room looking like it'd been ransacked, and skipped down the stairs. "Anyone got some food up in here?" she sang as she reached the main floor landing. It was much more... bright, than the upstairs. The walls were yellow, the carpet was lime green, and the crown molding was peach. At first she thought it was cool, but now, it was just an eyesore.

An old man with a slightly pudgy stomach appeared in the doorway to her left. He held a whisk in one hand and a yellow-paged cookbook in the other. "I just made pancakes," he offered gruffly. This was Will's father, though he didn't look it. Willis did have Will's gray eyes, though they were so dark they looked black. And his balding head's hair was gray, though Will'd told her it'd once been straw blonde.

He was the last thing she'd been expecting. She'd thought she'd find another gaunt man, perhaps a bit bigger, with a few wrinkles and crow's feet by his eyes from smiling. She thought he'd have Will's dark red hair, and stormy gray eyes. And she thought he'd be a bit... less abrupt, impatient. She'd only seen him once, when she was small enough to be held with one hand, and the image had faded.

"Thanks," she said hurriedly, and scooted around him in the doorway. Raiden and Will were at the table, stuffing pancakes ravenously into their mouths. The pile at the center was steadily declining, and she threw herself onto the seat, grabbing a fork. Eri fought tooth and nail for everything that entered her stomach that day. Though, in the end, she ended up fuller than the others.

"Teme***, stomping on my foot was a dick move," Raiden grumbled, shooting Will a glower. "Yeah? And stabbing my hand wasn't?" Will was applying a bandage to the bleeding hand with jerky, annoyed movements. Eri leaned back in her chair, giving her protruding abdomen some room. She sighed happily, resting her hands on her stomach. "Yummy."

Raiden turned his glower on her, along with Will. "YOU! You friggin' took the entire plate and stuffed it down your gullet!" Will screamed at her, tying off his bandage with his teeth. Raiden nodded his head furiously.

"The plate had it coming," she protested thinly. She could practically feel the ceramic down there, floating in her stomach acids along with the rest of the pancakes. "Anyway, we've got better things to argue about. When's that ship gonna be ready to go?" Raiden looked at Will for the answer, who held up his hands innocently. "I don't really know. I mean, it's already built and stuff, but if you want to leave soon, you're gonna have to buy the supplies up stairs off of Dad. And haul it down yourselves."

The two pirates he was blabbing to grabbed his arms cheerfully, and dragged him up the stairs with wide, creepy grins on their faces. "Well _surely _you won't mind helping us, since you _are _a member of the crew," Eri sang, grip tightening on his arm. She wasn't giving the man a choice.

He would not let her see him tremble in the corner. He would _not. _

Will snapped his jaw closed, looking irritated instead of scared. Though she was pretty terrifying, along with Raiden, who was eyeing him like he was his next dessert.

* * *

"C'mooooon, get your crap and get aboard!" Eri yelled, hands cupped around her mouth to make her voice fly farther. Will was striding away from his house, two suitcases, a backpack, and an instrument case in tow. His father refused to help him, though he seemed a bit more cheerful. When asked, Willis would probably say it wasn't anyone's business, but walk away with a secretive smile on his face.

Once he was close to the ship, Will set his stuff down, a single drop of sweat rolling down his face. "Can I at least get help hauling it aboard?" he begged. Raiden grumbled something under his breath, but jumped down onto the ground from the ledge to help.

Eri was left aboard the Moonlight Sonata.

It was named for a musician who wanted to order it, and as elegant as it was... not a pirate ship. It was a regular old ship, made of blackwood and though not as big as she'd imagined, it would certainly work. Two masts, for one, with a bird's nest on the main. It needed more than one sail, and the rear one was a royal purple, that matched the wood to a 't'. The main was canvas white, and nothing special. She suspected the musician wanted to paint it.

And its best part, in her opinion, was the headpiece. It was some type of big cat, something Willis had called a 'cheater', with black rings upon its golden head. Nothing that she'd ever seen before, but it would serve as a functional seat, for her at least.

The two men made it aboard, and Raiden set down his load with a flourish. He then went to the ladder by the side, and pulled it up casually, setting it aside.

Eri perched herself onto the figurehead while Raiden leaned against the mast. And Will knelt to unlock his cello, having been wanting to play for a while.

"So wait... where are we going next?" Eri questioned.

* * *

**Done. Longer than the last, something I'm pleased about. R+R, and PLEASE give me some name suggestions for Will. I want to unveil it in the next chapter.**

***Chero- cello**

****Naifu- knife**

***** Teme- bastard**


	4. Chapter 4

** Ah, thanks for the idea Shiningheart~~ And don't worry- the king got his comeuppance. He wasn't, however, stripped of the crown- he learned his lesson after two weeks of arduous 'villager work'. I don't think he'll be raising taxes anymore.**

**This is a really short chapter, ok? I'm gonna have to use the usual 'school crap' excuse. BUT IT IS VALID OKAY I'VE HAD SO MANY FREAKING TESTS TO STUDY FOR IT ISN'T EVEN FUNNY.**

CHAPTER FOUR: The Truth Behind A Name

_So when you feeling crazy, and things fall apart,_  
_Listen to your head, remember who you are,_  
_You re the one, you re the unbreakable heart._

* * *

_"Willis! Willis- you've got to help!" The door flew ajar with no time for a protested squeak, and standing in the frame was a woman. Scarlet hair hung in tangles down her back, matted to her scalp by rain. She wore a plain brown dress, feet bare, a dirty painter's smock tied around her waist. Her chest was heaving with exersion, and her face was a mask of panic, eyes wheeling in their sockets and mouth gaped._

_ "What do you- Mai?" Willis stomped down the steps once he saw her, like a bat out of Hell. A crack of lightning behind her had Mai nearly dropping the bundle in her arms in shock, and she trembled, moving away from the door. Willis kicked the door shut, surprise still etched on his face, and guided the feverish woman to his living room. He sat her down on the worn floral sofa, and wrapped a frayed terry-cloth blanket around her shoulders._

_Mai took a few calming breaths, though there was still an animalistic intensity in her icy blue eyes. She thrust the easter green bundle at Willis as if it had a disease. "What- a kid?" Willis' eyes popped out as he saw the cherubic features of the child before him, face flushed from crying and eyes screwed shut. "This isn't-" he started, but was thrown off by Mai's furious expression. She looked like a lion, hair that was already starting to dry fanning out with static. "Yes, it is. As of one week ago," she said stonily._

_ Willis glanced once again back at the baby. It did sort of resemble him, but that was the least of his concerns. "One WEEK? And you didn't tell me? Why all of a sudden?" he demanded, grinding his teeth. He should have known the woman would take so lightly her own child, not even thinking to tell the father. "Because I need to escape. Just for a little while. I've caused some problems with a few people I probably shouldn't have," she confessed, looking a tad sheepish._

_"And you just want to leave it here. With me. What about the rest of the family? I'm sure out of the twenty plus of us, you can find someone better suited for the job." Mai shrugged noncommitally and said, "I won't be gone that long. A year. Tops. Just until they think I've moved on." Mai stood, and the feverish look was back on her face. The blanket fell away from her. "Just tell the rest of the family that I've taken a cruise. Or something. His false name is Will."_  
_Mai was out the door before Willis could even ask her the child's name. He glanced down at the child, and frantically began to rock it as its face screwed up. "If she's not going to name you, I will... Alexander."_

_The baby's eyes opened for a moment, just a split second, but it was enough for Willis to see the sleet gray eyes. They stared at him, seeming to know everything that had transpired. Intelligence that only came with relation to Mai. Alexander seemed to smile at him, gurgling his approval quietly. "I hope you aren't going to be a hassle," Willis groaned, though inside, his ice heart seemed to melt. _

"Meshimeshimeshimeshimeshi," Eri grumbled, emerging from the girls' quarters wearing the clothes she'd worn yesterday. They were wrinkly, and smelt like copper and sweat, but she paid it no heed. She stumbled up the stairs and threw open the door, to the bright morning sun. "Mornin'," Raiden said to her left, and she looked over, eyes still half bleary from sleep. The first mate was sitting atop the ledge of the Sonata, a fishing rod clasped loosely between his legs. If a fish were to try and tug now, she had no doubt it would fall into the ocean.

As if sensing what she thought, Raiden transferred the handle to his hands. "I'm catching my own breakfast." He looked absurdly content, relaxed with his bare feet dangling off the edge. "But if you're not interested in waiting, I think Will's making oatmeal in the kitchen."

She needed no further words, and climbed the steps, hunched over like she had osteoarthritis. The door to the kitchen burst open, and Will flounced out, wearing no shoes, black sweatpants, and a gray muscleshirt. A serving tray clasped in his hands held three bowls of oatmeal- which actually looked appetizing, Will having cut a few strawberries over each.

He brushed past her casually, and flopped down to the poop deck, seating himself on the wood. "He included everying we'd ever need, ever. And yet, he managed to forget the table," he explained as Eri doubled back and sat beside him. Her hand flashed out, and suddenly, she was shoveling spoonful after spoonful into her mouth. "You're not a bad cook," she commented, mouth full. Will didn't answer, instead turning over his shoulder.

"Oi, Naifu, you can hunt later. Nobody wants fish for breakfast," he said loudly. Raiden seemed to weigh his options for a few moments before reeling in his bait and setting the pole onto the ground. He dropped down next to Eri and grabbed a bowl. "When you said weird, I thought it'd be much worse than this," Raiden said, swallowing a mouthful. Eri nodded in agreement, and ran a long fingered hand along the deck.

"It's really pretty," she said, "And I get a special seat." Eri jerked her head backwards to indicate the cheetah figurehead. "Of course that was your main concern," Will grumbled, fishing a strawberry out of his bowl with his spoon. "I'm just happy there's space to... you know, do stuff," Raiden admitted. He couldn't imagine using that little rinky dink boat with three people in the East Blue, much less the Grand Line.

Eri, done with her bowl (of course, way before anyone else), set it back onto the tray and rushed to her 'special seat', flinging herself down and using the cheetah's ears as hand holds. "Oi, whn do we reach that citrus island?" On cue, Raiden and Will fell back in woe. "It's Orange Town, you idiot. And if there's no storm, we've probably got... a few hours. Noon, maybe."

They'd been travelling for days. Though she loathed to say it, Eri had gotten a bit bored, having no action and just floating around. She'd even resorted to practice spars with Raiden, without the use of her devil fruit powers. And she'd be the first to admit, that if she hadn't ate the Mist Mist fruit, he'd have killed her in their battle. There was only so much Juno could do with a girl he could balance on his pinkie finger. Eri didn't like to think that she was just a weakling without the fruit, but she knew that if she was to ever become Pirate Queen, she'd have to work much harder at her own physical strength. Though she thought his 1,000-pushups-a-day rule he set for her was stupid.

"I doubt we'll get anyone interesting in this Orange Peel place anyways," she pouted. Nobody good came from little towns in the middle of nowhere. "It's Orange TOWN, dobe*. And that's not really our main concern. We're running low on drinking water," Will snapped. Eri's eyebrows furrowed, and she pointed at the ocean in confusion. "But we've got plenty right here!"

At this, the two men yet again flopped onto the deck. "That's full of salt, idiot. You can't drink seawater," Raiden informed, finishing his bowl and setting it back onto the tray. "But... it's water..." Eri mumbled, a crestfallen expression on her face. She gripped onto her hat as the ship seemed to freeze and turn randomly.

The ship jerked unsteadily, and the rest of Will's breakfast made itself at home on his shirt. He grumbled something under his breath. "Oi, Eri, whaddaya see up there?" Raiden called, half-laughing at Will's scrunched up face. Eri's hands gripped the cheetah's ears tight enough to leave minute fractures in the wood, but when she looked at them, she was grinning. "Sugee~! It's a whirlpool! Freakin' HUUUUUUGE too!"

Her shipmates shot eachother looks and jumped into action. Raiden ran to the control room to steer the ship clear of the threat, and Will merely sprinted to Eri to get her off her 'special seat'. "NONONONONONONO! THIS IS COOL! GETTTTT OFFFFFFFFFFFF!" she screeched slapping at his hands as they wound around her torso and pulled. Her grip tightened on the ears. "If you use those as a hand hold, I've no doubt they'll break away," Will warned, and tugged harder.

She released the ears with a horrified expression, and the two tumbled back. Eri's pillow was Will's abdomen, and Will... his pillow was the tray he'd left on the floor. He winced as the edges dug into his back, hard enough to leave bruises. "Off." He shoved the girl off of himself, but before she could sprint back to her seat, Will lifted her over his shoulder like a sack of flour and carried her down the stairs into the underbelly of the ship. He threw her in the girls' quarters and slammed the door shut, holding the knob.

The ship veered violently, and he nearly fell, but kept his grip. Eri was pounding on the door wildly, screaming like some kind of rabid animal. "SSSEEEEEEEEEEAAAAATTTTTTTTTT !" Will was pretty sure his eardrums burst that day. "NO!" he yelled back, slapping the door on his end loudly, "IT WILL SURVIVE WITHOUT YOU!"

That was something he should have never said.

"At first, I was afraid, I was petrified,  
Kept thinking, I could never live without you by my side,  
But then I spent so many nights thinking, how you did me wrong,  
And I grew strong, and I learned how to get along!"

'Oh sweet Lord in Heaven, please spare me,' Will begged mentally, frantically attempting to drown out Eri's singing voice. If there was ever a song that Eri should never sing, it was one by Gloria Gaynor. "WE'RE GOOD!" Raiden interrupted, his silver head popping into view by the stairs. 'Thank you,' Will sighed, and released the knob.

Eri burst out heaving for breath as if she'd just ran a marathon. "You lock me away again, and I will kick you," she growled, pushing past him and trudging towards the stairs. As she passed Raiden on the stairs, she shot him a dirty look. "You're no better." Raiden showed his palms and played an 'innocent' face, though she could tell he was laughing on the inside.

~~~ TIME SKIP-TO-MY-LOO ~~~

The trio were sprawled on the deck of the Sonata, staring at the blue sky above them. Boredom had kicked in after the freak whirlpool, and not even tag could get their spirits up. "Hey, Will. Make me a sandwich," Eri said loudly, interrupting the silence. Will lifted his head lifelessly to glare at her. "Not your housekeeper," he said, and his head flopped back down. Eri blew a raspberry at him. "We're on a ship, not a boat," she corrected.

"She's got a point." Raiden sounded just as dead as the others, except he was casually flipping his fish hook knife in the air, hoping it didn't slice his neck. "Shut up, Naifu. I'll show you a point." Will didn't elaborate, and none of them questioned him. Probably too lazy to try, he thought. "When do we get to tangerine island," Eri asked, flopping onto her stomach.

"It's Orange Town. And I told you. Around noon." There was a collective groan from Will's companions. "Lets play truth or dare," Eri suggested suddenly, sitting up. Raiden followed, albeit hesitantly, and said, "What's that?" Will saw her shoot him a horrified look. "You don't... that's a real shame."

As she explained the simple rules of the game, Will sat up as well, resting his chin on his fists. He felt like he was at a teenage girl's slumber party. "Okay, I'll ask you first. Once you answer, you ask Will, and then Will asks me. Kay?" Raiden nodded, though he didn't look very enthusiastic. "Truth or dare," Eri prompted. Raiden scratched the back of his neck for a moment. "Uh, dare. I guess." Will stifled a chuckle. Eri would probably give out the worst dares ever. He should've known that.

"I dare you to go lick the mast." As usual, she didn't disappoint. Raiden's nose crinkled in distaste. "If I get some kind of life-threatening disease, you'll be recieving charges," he grumbled, brushing off the seat of his pants and striding up to the mast. He squeezed his eyes closed as he leaned forward and gave the wood a short lick. Almost immediately, he spat, and rubbed his tongue with the collar of his shirt. "That was disgusting," he said as he went back to his spot, "truth or dare."

It took Will a moment to realize that Raiden meant him. "U-Uh, dare," he said quickly. Truth didn't seem like a very manly thing to do. Raiden smirked. "Chug one gallon of seawater." A few minutes later, an empty milk jug full of the greenish water was in his hands, and he was staring down the nozzle with a nauseated expression. "Okay. Fine." Will took a deep breath, and lifted the jug to his lips, allowing the water to gush down his throat.

The water tasted like fish, grass, and most of all, salt. Almost immediately he began choking. Eri and Raiden, of course, were having a grand old time, slapping their knees at his face. "Have you noticed he makes that face alot?" Raiden punched Will's shoulder goodnaturedly. Will almost made it. But the time came when his stomach had to relieve itself, and he ended up half overboard, giving the ocean back its produce.

Raiden and Eri were still laughing when he returned, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "Eri's turn," he sang maliciously, "Truth or dare?" Eri, suddenly frightened of this side of Will, blurted 'truth'. "Alright then. Are you on THAT side of the fence?" Will had actually always wondered this. Eri seemed to show little regard for men besides innocent friends.

Eri tilted her head. "I don't see a fence." She made a show of peering into the distance for the fence that was not there. Raiden scoffed, "I don't think she has a preference. " That was probably true. Will had only half-expected Eri to respond like a normal person. She was just much too clueless. "Moving on," he suggested, disappointed.

They took turns, until the time came where Will tried to draw the line. Raiden had asked the question, and Will had answered 'truth', instead of 'dare'. And Raiden asked another million dollar question. "What's your real name?" Will immediately clammed up. Sure, these people were meant to be his nakama- but he didn't know them, not really. They knew his goal, but not much else, and to him, that was perfectly fine.

"U-Uh, well..." he muttered, biting his cheek. "Awh c'mon. You can't just go around hiding everything forever. We'll figure it out eventually," Eri whined, latching onto his leg with her iron grip. Raiden clasped his shoulder encouragingly. "Spill. I've been curious. What's so special about it that you have to go around hiding it?"

Will knew that these people were outsiders. They wouldn't know his past if he didn't tell them. He didn't have to elaborate, he just had to say it. Besides, he doubted those scum would recognize his name now. He'd kept it hidden so long, it hardly sounded like his anymore. It wasn't attached to him- for Will, he was always just Will. His head wouldn't turn if someone called him by anything else. But yet... it felt odd to reveal it after all the years of keeping it on the DL.

"My birthname is Alexander. But I don't respond to it." Will had added the last part quickly. He wasn't going to take a chance. Those men were as vicious as they were in abundance. He wouldn't be surprised to find them here, nor would it come as a terrible shock to find them on some obscure island in the Grand Line. "Ok then," Eri replied, and the game went on.

Will didn't pick 'truth' again.

~~~TIME SKIP TO MY LOO~~~

Eri sat in the girls' quarters, a worn leather photo album in her lap. She laid back, the cot jerking unsteadily, to lift it above her head. There was a small, dainty padlock that closed the two covers together. It smelt like parchment, old ink, and dust. She didn't exactly know what it had in it, but she'd stolen it from Will's room as he cooked dinner. Surely he wouldn't mind- she WAS the captain, after all. And she was curious. He hadn't elaborated at the truth or dare game, and she wasn't mean enough to pry. Stealth was the only way she was going to calm her raging thoughts.

She inserted the thin brass key into the lock, and turned. The clasp popped open with a soft 'click', and she removed the lock. A quick scan of the album proved that he didn't have that many pictures in it, about six in total. The first one was yellowed, and crinkled in the corners. A small coffee stain dotted the center of the picture, though she could see it. A younger Will was staring at the camera, unsmiling, with his father's arms around his shoulders. They stood in front of Willis's home, though it had been painted brown instead of blue.

The next was of just Will. He sat at the head of a long oak table, a festive red cone hat atop his mussy red waves and a cheerful grin on his face. Before him was a large chocolate cake, nine multicolored candles imbedded in its top. 'His birthday,' she guessed, and flipped the page. Will's father was standing in the middle of the shipyard, two stacks of lumber on his shoulders. Sweat was turning his white shirt yellow, but the man was smiling. Eri's eyebrows raised; she'd never seen him smile before.

She flipped. Will, and some boy he vaguely resembled, were lying in a corn field, grinning childishly at eachother. They were both bandaged heavily, bruises dotting the light skin and small cuts criscrossing their limbs, but they were cheerful. Another flip, another picture. And this one was sombering- Will, alone, in a black suit. Perhaps fourteen. He carried a single white flower in his hand as he looked down at the freshly moved soil. At the head of the grave was a bright yellow cross, a small inscription in its center.

The last picture had no Will in it. It was in black and white, a much younger Willis and some woman Eri didn't recognize stood in front of the house again. Her wickedly curly hair was strung against Willis's shirt, and she looked content, though she didn't smile. Willis was grinning, his eyes looking down at her as if she were the best thing since ice cream. His arms were wrapped loosely around her waist, and hers were arched behind her, curling around his neck.

Eri closed the album and locked it again, sliding off her hammock. She peeked her head out the door, listening intently. Soon enough, steps were stomping on the roof above her, and she grinned in relief. She was just below the kitchen, which meant Will was still at work. Eri sprinted down the hall, entering the darkened boys' room quietly.

It smelt like dirty socks, so she stuffed her nose as she tip toed to Will's bedside table. His side of the room was almost stripped bare, while Raiden's crap was flung everywhere. She slid the album into the drawer, put the key back in its place behind the shade of the lamp, and retreated. Her mission was a success, but from the twisted feeling in her gut, she definately didn't feel like it.

~~~TIME SKIP-TO-MY-LOO~~~

Dinner was a quiet event. Eri had done her damnedest to strike up a conversation, but today just wasn't a talking kind of day. 'This is how it goes,' Will thought, 'some days we rant on and on about the sheer number of penguins in the North Blue. And some days we sit here, not really talking but at the same time communicating everything we need to.' He stood up from his crouch on the deck, his empty plate atop the tray, and stretched his sore back. He'd never gone days without exercising before- helping his father out at the shipyard had been enough. Not to mention his frequent visits to the dojo.

Now, he was bored out of his mind, and he could practically feel the weight adding on to his abdomen. He felt confined. Yes, they had reached Orange Town, but they hadn't really explored. In fact, the only thing they did once they got into town was purchase supplies from various shops. He could tell Eri was revving to go- she had that bounce in her step, the peculiar glint in her dark eyes, and that cheek-stressing grin on her face.

Raiden, on the other hand, looked half dead. He'd ate himself into a stupor, piles of dishes stacked beside him. The man stared up at the setting sky whilst rubbing his suddenly round stomach, as if thanking the heavens that he was fully fed. Will unconsciously shivered. Right now, Raiden looked perfectly at ease, though Will had seen how little he'd cared when he took that guard's life that day. He'd seen the brewing rage in his metallic eyes when the king had flew at them and immediately taken them hostage. Will'd felt the waves of strength that seemed to pour off him when they'd had the sword pressed against their necks.

And yet, Raiden hadn't moved a muscle to defend himself. Granted, Will had seen him move his hand to his knife, though he didn't think that was to attack the king. It was a message to her. 'I'm ready when you are.' Will didn't think he could have that much confidence in Eri, at least until he'd heard what she'd had to say. He understood now why Raiden had let their captain do her thing, though he still didn't think he'd do it- not even now, after he'd seen her kick the man's ass.

"Let's go into town, Rojin-kuuuuuuun," Eri was begging, her spindly limbs wrapped around the knifesman's right leg. Some time in his musings, the man had gotten up, and seemed just as irritable as usual. Raiden waved the leg in the air wildly, yet fruitlessly, as Eri just held on tighter. "You honestly think we're going to get a guy in a place as small as this," Raiden questioned, exasperation coloring his tone.

Will couldn't help but agree. There was no chance a sleepy town like this would have anyone akin to what Eri was thinking of. It looked more like the place of people who left their front doors unlocked at night, and protected themselves with the base of a maple broomstick. Not a place that churned out swordsmen and snipers with the rise of the tide. "Yes, I do. And anyway, I want to sing tonight~!" Eri had made sure to sing the last part of her sentence. It hadn't sounded all that bad, though it was too light and... fluttery like to really catch his ear.

"You're ridiculous," Raiden told her, finally giving up the battle and limping to the lip of the ship. He jumped up onto the ledge, Eri still on his leg. "You wanna come? Or do you wanna babysit the ship?" The knifesman looked over his shoulder expectantly at Will. Who, after a moment's hesitation, jerkily nodded his head and followed him. As he landed safely on the rocky sand of the shore, he heard a loud splash, and Raiden scream a few profanities.

The man returned sopping wet, a disoriented Eri's collar fisted in his hands. "She made me off balance," he admitted, looking bitter. Will blinked once; twice; before shrugging and turning his back before the knifesman could see his smile. He could hear the two bicker as they made their way up the steep path cut into the gray rock, mostly about Eri's apparent inability to stand on her own two feet. "Diiii-zzzzzyy!" Eri giggled loudly.

Will thought this was the best part about being on the crew. In the short time he'd known them, he already understood what it meant to be with Eri D. Monkey. It meant danger, certainly, meant a bad reputation and a high chance of getting caught. But it also meant that he'd have at least a roof, however unsteady, over his head. People who talked with him as if he were their friend, and not just some odd guy that just didn't quite fit in.

Plus, it helped that he was just that close to his sister. He already knew their ambitions- hell, Eri announced it thrice a day- and those ambitions brought them to the Grand Line. His own goal wasn't as fantastic or unreachable or incredible as their's, but it took priority over all else. Eri was going to be the Pirate Queen, Raiden was going to be the best (and perhaps only) knifesman in the world, and Will was finally going to find his sister. That was just how it was- no doubts in their minds, and he felt that there was no longer any doubt in his own either.

The steepness fell to flat land, and they were now on a dirt road, that cut between a few trees to wind into the dense forest before them. A light breeze seemed to wrap around him like a chilled blanket, making him raise the collar of the thin black jacket he'd so thoughtfully put on when the light had faded slightly from the sky. "Are you sure we couldn't wait till morning? It's already kinda dark," Will complained as the rest of his companions joined him on the precipice of the treeline.

"You know the baddies don't come out to play till the haunting hour," Eri said in a low voice, wiggling her fingers at him for the full effect. Which, as it turned out, didn't really help at all- she had a wide grin on her face as she did so. "That's just your beliefs, Mizetto. Now c'mon." Raiden started forward, fingers twined behind his head. He didn't stop to look back to see if the others were following. Will and Eri exchanged looks, before rushing after him, Eri yelling, "I'M CAPTAIN, dammit!"

They caught up to him easily enough, though now they were swamped in darkness, the dying sun completely blotted out by the branches of the trees. Raiden fumbled around in his shorts for a moment, before unearthing... a matchbox. Will felt like facepalming for his own stupid thoughts. Of course he didn't carry around a torch for this kind of problem. The knifesman lit a match, and it gave off a minute amount of amber light.

"That's just pitiful," Eri sighed, wilting like a flower out of sunlight. "What, you thought I carried around a tree branch in my pants?" Raiden defended, though he too looked a bit sour. Will grimaced, 'Yes, that's exactly what I thought.' The three continued, Raiden ranting on about how they should've waited until tomorrow and Eri retorting with the same old, "STRONG PEOPLE KEEP TO THE NIGHT!"

Will seemed to be the only sane one in the group. He didn't raise his voice the entire way to the town, instead focusing on the path ahead of them. It was easy to get lost in a forest at night. "Ahhh, civilization!" Eri said in relief. It didn't look like midnight in the town- which surprised Will. When they'd gotten their supplies earlier in the day, it'd looked droopy and lifeless. Fantastic for old people to retire in. But now, every house light was on, shouting coming from numerous buildings. Pedestrians were walking the street, laughing and talking with one another.

Eri had already staked out the bar they would invade. So she beelined towards the joint, dodging around a few people to get there. "It looks like a friggin' dump," Raiden complained, dragging his feet as he walked. Will agreed; their sign (Big John's Pub) crooked above the doorway, which was only shielded by two cloths hanging from the top of the frame. It looked like it would collapse after one well aimed punch to a wall. "Oh well," Will replied, climbing the rickety steps and hoping they wouldn't crack under his weight.

The two entered, and winced at the lack of lighting. There was no overhead lighting, instead it was provided by dim kerosene lamps on each table. The only illumination seemed to come from the stares the patrons gave them, like they shouldn't be there. Will craned his neck, and found Eri unsurprisingly at a mostly-empty bar, kicking her feet happily in the air as they didn't reach the floor.

The two dodged around a few chairs to get to her, and sat beside her. "Are you just going to sit there and wait?" Raiden asked, leaning forward to stare at her around Will. "Well yeah. I was gonna order food too, but nobody's here," Eri pouted. It was true- the bartender was missing. There was numerous people who kept glancing nervously towards the empty area, not impatient but genuinly worried.

Raiden turned around and poked the nearest townsperson. The middle-aged man turned with raised eyebrows, as if shocked anyone would want to talk to him. "Does anyone know where he went?" he asked, not bothering to elaborate at the knowing glint in the man's eyes. As the man was about to answer, the curtains blew in, with such a force that they flew into the middle of the room and landed on some poor soul's head.

A tall, barrel-chested man stood in the doorway, a fierce smirk on his face that seemed to eccentuate the growing feeling of danger that lifted Will's hackles. There was a broadsword strapped to his back, and two long daggers sheathed at his waist. His coat was open, showing off a scarred torso. His legs, exposed from the knee down, were muscular, and he had more hair on his calfs than Will had on his head.

"Where's John!" a brave girl in the back shouted. There was a collective gasp as everyone turned to look at her. She didn't look like she belonged in the hullabaloo, a bit more unique than the typical brown-haired brown-eyed joes that graced the area. Her dark blue hair was pulled into a half-assed ponytail at the base of her neck, and despite not being much taller than Eri, the fearful look that entered the other patrons' eyes was not present. She stood with her feet apart, knees bent as if readying herself for impact.

The man's eyes seemed to bore into her, and Will felt Eri rise and disappear into the crowd of chairs, her hat atop her head. He refocused his attention on the man, and heard the next awful words. "Was that the guy I just killed yesterday? I wouldn't know!"

*** FLASHFORWARD ***

He leaned down, and rested a hand on the girl's shoulders. "What's your name?" The question was partly to calm her, partly to lure her attention away from what was happening in front of them, and partly genuine curiousity. She looked up at him, with eyes the precise shade of ocean water. Before, they had been deceptively wide and innocent, without her even trying. And now, it seemed like all the deception was gone- she looked vulnerable, for the first time. Her voice wobbled as she whispered, "I don't know."

*** END OF FLASHFORWARD ***

***Dobe - loser, moron**

**Meh, I thought it was fine. Probably should've waited for Orange Town for the next chapter and focused on Will- cough, Alexander, cough- but we all make mistakes. Also- the first chapter of my story Kamikaze (the Fenny story I told ya'll about, few chapters back, remember?) is up on FictionPress. s/3094029/1/Kamikaze Check it out kay I like it.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Guest- Nami- says so in the little bit before the first chapter. ^.^**

**This is super long to make up for last week. Fun fact: _Vox Pupili _means 'voice of the people'. **

CHAPTER FIVE: Vox Populi

_When I was a young boy,_  
_My father took me into the city,_  
_To see a marching band._  
_He said, "Son when you grow up,_  
_would you be the saviour of the broken, the beaten and the damned?"_  
_He said "Will you defeat them,_  
_your demons, and all the non-believers, the plans that they have made?"_  
_"Because one day I'll leave you,_  
_A phantom to lead you in the summer,_  
_To join the Black Parade."_

* * *

The entire pub had grown eerily quiet. Eri was still nowhere in sight, probably crawling along the grimy floor on her hands and knees for no viable reason. Raiden had jumped to his feet the moment the man had said the words, and Will was distantly aware that he'd followed. The man turned on them, and moved with catlike grace that shouldn't have been allowable by his large size. He stared down at them, with dark fathomless eyes, and seemed to challenge them.

"You took out King Lucas. One of my subordinates told me," he stated, and looked around them. "I don't quite see your lovely little captain, though. Pity. I saw her wanted poster- she's a beaut." He rustled around with an inside pocket of his jacket, and pulled out a balled up piece of parchement. He shot it at them casually, and jumped over the counter to access the beer. Will caught it, and they unraveled it, distracted.

Eri's grinning face stared at them, though the hat was so big that it nearly covered her dark brown eyes. She was on their ship, leaving Illusia. Below her picture was: ' ERI D. MONKEY, DEAD OR ALIVE: 12,000,000'. "She'll probably find that amusing," Raiden muttered over his shoulder. He then seemed to register that his captain was MIA, for he suddenly jumped around, looking under booths, under chairs, under people. "We've lost her! She'll destroy the building!" he cried dramatically, which freaked out a few of the nearby civilians.

Apparently they hadn't lost her, because Eri popped up directly next to the blue haired girl, scaring a few people. "Who are you? Who's John?" Eri asked, poking the girl repeatedly in the shoulder. She turned her narrowed eyes on Eri, and if anything, they squinted further. "I'm guessing you're the 'lovely little captain' that bastard is talking about." It didn't sound like a question. Eri nodded. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm a captain, yeah,"

The blue haired girl waved a hand. "I have good hearing." Eri poked her shoulder, again, which got her an irritated look. "You didn't answer my questionnn," Eri pouted, seemingly immune to the stinkeye. "It doesn't matter who I am. The townsfolk just refer to me as 'that girl'. And John was the owner of this pub- you did notice the name of it, right?" When Eri shook her head, the blue haired girl wasn't really surprised. Eri didn't look like one of those who was particularly intelligent.

"John was a really nice guy. He's the one who took me in when I arrived in town a couple days ago. But he was really brave, and he said what he wanted. If what that teme says is correct, that's what got him killed," the girl explained. Eri saw the slight tremble in the girl's hands as she concealed them in the pockets of her sweatpants, and wondered. This man must have been very important, considering everyone looked either sad, hysterical, or shellshocked. And the girl with the odd deadpan was no different.

Her face was schooled into a blank expression, but she was blinking rapidly, and staring at her shoes. John must have been a tad more than the girl let on. "And who's that guy?" Eri jabbed a finger in the direction of the intimidating man, who was currently serving himself a tankard of ale from the barrel. Her crewmates seemed to be staring, no, glaring, at him, though they didn't move.

"I don't rightly know. He's not a pirate, doesn't got a crew save for two or three cronies, but he might as well be. He thundered in and started forcing people to pay taxes to him- for living. Anyone who can't provide is tortured in the street. And anyone who rebels is..." she trailed off. They'd probably find John's body somewhere in the morning. It was the man's custom to dump his victims the moment the rooster crows in the morning. "So he doesn't have a name?" Eri wondered, setting her hat atop her head. It was her custom to lower the hat when the owner was in, but if he was dead, than this was just a meeting place.

"He does, but I haven't bothered to remember it. Trash like that aren't worth my time." The blue haired girl turned on her heel and escaped out of the mass into the backroom. Apparently, their conversation was over. Eri went back to her crewmates at the bar, and joined them in staring at the man. He didn't seem too much interested in anything besides refilling his mug. "What dya suppose would happen if I just went over and kicked him in the shin?" Eri wondered.

Having snuck up behind them with the stealth of a mouse, it was no surprise the two men jumped ten feet in the air. Raiden whipped around to glare at her. "Nothing good!" She pouted at that, and made herself comfortable on a bar stool. "OI, I think you've done away with enough of that to down an elephant," she called to the man, gaining the stares of everyone in the vicinity. Including the man. "I think you need to shut your trap," the man retorted, stomping over to her to glare her down.

He didn't look in the least bit drunk, dark eyes boring into her's. He slammed the tankard in his hand onto the counter, and some of the liquid splattered on her face. Eri made no move to swipe it away. "What? I was just sayin'," she replied blankly. Will felt like slapping himself. 'Of course she doesn't understand that he's threatening her. God forbid she has a shred of self-preservation!' Raiden on the other hand, stepped forward, and put a large hand on her bony shoulder.

"He's not a very good person to acquiant yourself with," Raiden whispered, his head craned down to speak in her ear. Eri's eyebrows knit at that. "Well I know that. That blue haired chick told me 'bout him," she whispered back. 'So that's what she slunk off for,' Will thought. "So why're you taxing people if you aren't the king?" Eri said louder to the man, causing him to lean towards her. Close enough for her to smell the alcohol on his breath, and the grease in his hair.

"Because I'm a bandit. It's what I do. And you and your measly crew better clear out before I come in with my friends." He didn't sound particularly angry yet; just irritated. But that was about to change. "Whaddaya mean, measly? Any of us can kick your ass with our eyes blindfolded and our hands tied behind out backs." Eri sounded genuinely confused. And being Eri, she was completely ignorant of the rising panic in the room.

The man's dark eyes sharpened, and seemed to glitter. "You're probably not aware, but you're wanted for 12 million beli." His mouth curled into a malicious, warning smile. "And I'm wanted for 30." She was finally notified of the other patrons' presence when their chairs scooted back roughly and their feet pounded as they flooded the joint. Will looked back, not at all surprised to see it completely empty.

The blue haired girl was looking around the corner in the backroom, her bright eyes wide but her jaw set stubbornly. Will turned around again, pretending that he hadn't seen her. "Ooh, twelve? That's pretty high for just beating that bratty king! Hey, do one of you have the poster? I wanna hang it on the wall!" Eri sang distractedly, looking apprehensively over her shoulder at her crewmates. They let their heads fall to their chests in disappointement. They were really hoping that for once, she would show the slightest inkling of fear from a man wanted for more than twice herself.

"I will not be ignored," the dark eyed man rumbled, hand on the hilt of his sword. Eri turned back around at the sharp sound of his sword being slid out of its sheath, and nearly slit her own neck. His sword rested just above her collarbone, a bright bronze that dazzled the eye and didn't fit in with his dark, mysterious appearance. Will and Raiden, who'd seen the remarkable speed at which he'd drawn his weapon, just stared.

Eri scootched back, frowning. The small cut she'd inflicted upon herself oozed a single drop of blood, that was slowly rolling down her neck and disappearing behind her shirt. She reached up, and rubbed the path clean with the pad of her thumb. It hadn't hurt much, in fact she'd barely felt it at all, but it was enough for her to get a clue- that this man was no good, and that the blue haired girl was telling the truth.

"Nice sword," she said, boldly touching it with her bloodly thumb. She slowly, audaciously, slid it down the blade, and met his eyes with a challenging grin. "Perhaps you'd be worthy of it if you could actually use it." She then jumped back, already anticipating his rage-filled slash for her head. His sword barely kissed her chest, and the stool clattered to the ground. Will and Raiden caught her arms so that she wouldn't fall from her momentum.

The blue haired girl reappeared from her hiding spot, ready to help the strange pirates if need be.

"If you lot don't clear out by the morning's light, I'm assuming you want a fate worse than the guillotine." With his threat announced, the man gathered another barrel under his arm and stormed out, the floor shuddering with each heavy step he took. Once they were alone, Will sighed, and let his death grip on her arm go. "I was sure that was the end," he muttered, thrusting Eri away. "You really just HAVE to start trouble everywhere, don't you?" Raiden added, crossing his arms.

"You're pirates?" The blue haired girl was a great deal closer to them then she had been before, which made them all jump in surprise and whirl. She had a steady, disbelieving look on her face. "What's it to ya?" Raiden growled, leering at her. He didn't like the brazen look in her eye, like she didn't care that they could all cut her head off one way or another.

"Right fine idiots. I bet you don't even have a name." She said the last word as if it were the bane of her existance, and they looked curiously at her. "I haven't made my pirate flag yet," Eri confessed cheerfully, righting the bar stool and seating herself in front of the girl. "And yet, you're the idiots who took out king what's-his-face." Raiden had about had enough of her words. "I doubt you could hit a moving target from forty yards away with a fish hook knife. It's not wise to critisize us." Eri just grinned as he threatened her, like she was watching a television show.

"I know all the pressure points on your body, and can hit each one before you have time to draw your blade. Can you do the same?" Raiden's eyes lit- did he detect a challenge?

"I know 47 ways to kill you with a butterfly knife." The blue haired girl leaned against the table, ankles crossed and a catty smile on her face. "I've killed more than 47 wanted criminals." Will supressed the urge to sigh. Now they were just boasting.

"I can butter my toast in the time it takes you to blink!"

"I can butter your face faster than it takes for you to say, 'Why are you buttering my face?'"

"That didn't make any sense."

"You don't make any sense."

"It gives me character."

"I know cheese that's got more character than you."

"Your voice could put coffee to sleep."

"Coffee is so low in caffeine that it puts ME to sleep."

"Oh yeah? _Caffeine_ is so low in energy that it puts me to sleep."

~~~ TIME SKIP-TO-MY-LOO ~~~

The blue haired girl had stuck around longer than Will had expected. By the time the two were done bickering, it was around one, and the pub was deserted. Eri had tired herself out and made a home in a booth along the far wall, and Will would've joined her, if he trusted the town enough to stay in a place with no door. Raiden collapsed in a chair, his mind thinking along the same thoughts. He rolled his neck to stare at the blue haired girl, curiousity brimming in his eyes.

Will had just as many questions as the knifesman. Eri would be content to walk around with a complete stranger, but they certainly weren't. It was killing him to not KNOW. He didn't want to refer to her as 'that girl', didn't want to converse with her when he had no idea how she'd react, didn't want to fall asleep in her presence. At the same time, he was too polite to ask her any more than Eri had. So he kept his polite distance, wondering in silence.

"Well, I'm hitting the sack. If you wake me up before ten, I'll break off your hands and stick them on your head*," she said bluntly, giving a lazy two fingered salute and trudging into the darkness of the back room. Raiden huffed, glaring in her direction. "Fantastic. Leaves us to fend for ourselves." He stood up, and joined Eri in the back, though he sprawled over a table since he was too big for a booth seat.

And then there was one. What a hypocrite. Will knew this was the knifesman's way of saying, "You have watch duty, you slouching invertibrate." It didn't really matter. Will would get no sleep even if he tried- not when the wind was blowing through the door, not when he could still see a few stragglers waundering about with the terrible clumsiness only granted to a drunk. Raiden would, however, never hear the end of this tomorrow.

Will sat down on a stool, hooking his shoes in the bars, and thought. That was the only thing he could do; the blue haired girl had doused all but one kerosene lamp in the joint a while ago, he would make too much of a clatter if he tried to work out, and he would die from shame if he allowed himself to accidentally pass out from exhaustion.

Somehow, when they'd came prancing into town, he hadn't expected... this. Well perhaps the part about the threatening bandit- Eri always seemed to attract trouble- but not the part where he was stuck alone, in the dark, and watching out for a girl he didn't even know and two pirates that had given him nothing but trouble.

He blew out a large sigh, glancing (yet again) in the direction of his friends. When had he started to think of them that way? Was it when Eri had given him hope, for the first time in years? Or was it when they fought along side eachother, for a cause that they had no real connection to? Perhaps it was when he'd told them his name, his ultimate act of trust. Or when they hadn't pushed it as he'd said it.

Will had also not expected to be in an obscure town on an obscure island at one in the morning protecting people he'd known all of a week. He'd expected to tough it out on Illusia, inherit his father's business, work until he looked wrinklier than a prune, die with contributing absolutely nothing to the world and getting absolutely nothing in return. Sink into a boring oblivion because he'd done nothing too bad, and at the same time, nothing too good for his spirit to go up or down. Half-heartedly, he'd even expected that he'd never find his sister again. Expected that his mother would have died in vain and he'd never have a chance to go after her killers.

Hope was a funny thing. It could grow slowly, build over time just like hatred, or love, or lust, or friendship. Or it could happen all at once, just like hatred, or love, or lust, or friendship. Someone could come along and completely obliterate the growth process, and suddenly, you're left with all this hope that could seem meaningless to everyone but you and the person who created it. You don't know exactly what to do with that hope besides ignoring all else and shooting for that one goal, ignoring the obstacles, but that's okay, because it's your dream and your hope and goddamn it if you can't achieve it.

Will rested his elbows on his knees, leaning his chin on his knuckles as he stared at the dark abyss of the backroom. Unwillingly, he felt stupid resolve trickle into his mind as he thought about how she'd so boldly yelled at that dark eyed man. How she'd willingly argued with Raiden and (arguably) won at each go. She reminded him of Eri- albeit a smarter, sassier version-, and that was (also arguably) a good thing. So yes, he would protect this strange blue haired girl.

At least until he could figure out her actual name.

~~~ TIME SKIP-TO-MY-LOO ~~~

Raiden woke with the sun, though he could testify it was his back. It felt like it did when he'd stayed with Fenny at her 'treehouse' one night. The small of his back ached, as if he'd done too many lunges, and from shoulder blade to shoulderblade, it felt like every muscle was in a knot. He thought about visiting a doctor just to get the kinks out as he hopped down from his makeshift bed, now very aware that he hadn't taken off his knife belt before crashing.

Eri was still sleeping in the booth seat beside him, her hat shading her eyes. She slept sprawled out, with her mouth open and emitting semi-loud snores. One sandal had fled the building overnight, and now resided on a table across the room- conviniently in an empty water glass. Raiden went to retrieve it, and was nearly shocked out of his skin as his wrist was caught in a vicelike grip. He turned, to stare into the red rimmed eyes of the musician.

Will stared dully at him a moment. "When I wake up, I'll shove my foot so far up your ass that the MOON will feel it," he rumbled, voice scratchy, and seemed to collapse upon himself. He passed out on the floor, looking blissfully peaceful. "I didn't ask you to keep watch," Raiden muttered. Though, he did appreciate the sentiment. Raiden retrieved the shoe and returned to Eri's side. He brandished the shoe by its heel in the air, and almost as if it were a cerimony, brought it down to smack her right where her forehead would be.

His captain jolted up, hat falling into her lap. She blinked wildly before calming down enough to stare incomprehensibly. "Need me fer sum'?" she slurred, eyes glassy. Raiden shook his head hesitantly, but before he could elaborate, she'd already dropped off back to sleep. He cursed quietly and was about to slap her with the shoe again when a hand grabbed his arm and prevented him from doing so. 'What is today, national Scare The Crap Outta Raiden day?' he hissed, turning a shocked glare at the owner of the hand.

The blue haired girl blinked owlishly at him, her blue eyes so electrically bright that they seemed transparent. "Let her sleep a bit longer. It's only eight," she said, and released his grip. Raiden's jaw set stubbornly, but he did set the shoe down. "I thought you said to not wake you up until ten?" he said, changing the topic. Usually, when those words are spoken, the person intends to use the entire time for snoozing. Not wake up before.

"And you didn't. I did it myself. Good of you." Her tone was bitingly condescending. She sashayed between tables to the bar, which she hurtled over with the lithe grace of a jungle cat. "Dancer?" Raiden guessed, following her with his own wide gait. She didn't answer a moment, throwing open a small refridgerator in the corner and bustling through it. From the sound of it, Raiden'd assumed the only things in there were bottles, but she came away with a carton of eggs and a bag of frozen sausage disks.

She moved to the oven next, turning up the heat on two of the eyes and setting pans atop them. "No." The answer was curt as she broke an egg over one of the pans. "Well then what ARE you?" he asked- no, demanded. Raiden had hung around this girl for about five hours in total, and was already driven mad by her short answers and nonexistant explanations. She wordlessly cracked three more eggs on the lip of the pan before configuring a response.

"I suppose you could call me a protector."

Raiden blinked at her as she used her long fingernails to break the seal on the baggie. He wasn't quite sure what to say to that, so they fell into another awkward silence for a time. "...A protector?" he said finally, incredulously. The girl was about the size of Eri, and from what he'd seen, the only thing she had going for her were her brave words and her killer sarcasm. Though, he banished his doubts. He'd doubted Eri, and now he wasn't sure he could actually have kids anymore.

"I don't know. It seems stupid, even to me. But I woke up here, and had amnesia, and ever since, I've had this inane urge to protect these people," she confessed, her lips pasted together. She slipped about ten of the pink disks onto a pan after thoroughly coating it in a layer of cooking spray. "Did they know you?" Raiden asked. Though, he didn't particularly believe that they did.

"No. And that's why it's inane. I don't know any of these people, but I'll easily lay my life down for them."

She laughed mirthlessly and slammed the aerosol canister on the counter. Her other hand was gripping the countertop with surprising force, her knuckles white. Raiden kept his mouth shut this time. He was a tad relieved- at least he knew SOMETHING about her, no matter how small. But he was also empathetic. He couldn't imagine losing his memory and then, atop of that, wanting to take care of people he didn't even know. It would drive him mad.

A flash of Eri split across his mind momentarily, and he said, "I don't think protecting people is all that bad a profession."

~~~ TIME SKIP-TO-MY-LOO ~~~

Eri was moping. The blue haired girl was obviously immune to her puppy eyes power, and now, she was being stuffed and crammed into shirt after dress after too-short skirt. "This is stupid," she whined, staring at herself in the full length mirror. Blue hair rolled her eyes from the leather futon she was perched on and waved finger in a circle, the universal sign for 'turn for me'. Eri reluctantly obliged, feeling like an exibitionist as she did so.

They were both in a girls' clothing store, yes, but it wasn't the regular smiley tees and denim skirts. Oh, no. This shop was the whole studs, spikes and hair dye type. Blue hair said this was where she bought her clothing when she woke up, and had loved it. Eri had to admit that the prices were pretty low, but that didn't mean she had to like the black, strapless leather top that currently graced her person.

It was much too tight and Eri felt like an idiot. "I have to admit, you actually look seventeen in that," her companion said, nodding her head slowly. Eri felt a growing panic rising in her. The dark, skin tight skirt would not hold her staff, she couldn't run in the five-inch boots, and she couldn't move in the leather top. "I-I'm gonna go change!" Eri stuttered, and practically flew to the dressing room. She ran into her stall and locked the door behind her, loathing the moment when she'd have to go out.

Eri had to admit, it was shocking when the blue haired girl asked her to go shopping. But as she'd explained later, the girl had done it only because Eri's clothes left much to be desired. And Eri had found out quickly that the girl wasn't a good shopping partner- she was into the entire gothic mumbo-jumbo, and Eri would never have anything to do with it again for the remainder of her life. She stripped the clothes, having a few issues with the top, and dressed again.

She thought her clothes now were perfectly fine. Sure, her skirt was a bit frayed, and there was a hole in her shirt, but there was nothing wrong with them. They had served her faithfully for years. Eri plopped her hat on her head in finality. No way would she ever cloth herself like the blue haired girl did. She patiently folded the clothing, and placed the boots back in their box, and left the room spotless. She was nothing if not a tad OCD.

The blue haired girl was waiting, to Eri's horror, with two gold coins in her hands and a mischievious smirk on her face. "No," Eri grunted, swallowing her fear. "Yes," the girl retaliated, moving as if to take the bundle from Eri. Safe to say, the owner was kicking them out a moment later and threatening to charge them with destruction of property. Eri stood, brushing the dirt off the back of her skirt and glaring askance at the girl.

"Your fault," she accused.

The blue haired girl's jaw slackened, and her eyes popped. "...I think we forgot that little warning that bandit gave us." She gulped.

~~~ TIME SKIP-TO-MY-LOO ~~~

Will was bloody. His shirt had sustained damage and had to be removed, his ponytail had fallen out, and he was practically bathing in his own life source. His right arm was spurting, the man having caught an artery with his broadsword, and he honestly thought he'd have to amputate his left ankle. Large slices criscrossed his torso, front and back, and one large wound slashed the left side of his face from hairline to jaw. That would leave a hefty scar.

Raiden, if anything, was in worse shape. His rotten luck had gotten him the archer, and Will now knew that Raiden sucked at dodging flying things. The back of his shirt was pinned to the wall, along with both of his shoulders. The dark man was torturing him, slashing small wounds anywhere and everywhere that wouldn't bleed much but hurt like a bitch. Will was the lucky one- he'd gotten the weakest of the bunch, and had actually done a very good job- so much so that the man was passed out next to him.

Will couldn't feel any happiness at that, though. All that made its way through his hazy mind was, 'Where the hell are they?'. His pride didn't allow him to yell for her, but inside, he was freaking out. Soon enough, the dark man would go looking for her... after disposing of them. He didn't want to die a young death. And the blue haired girl, he sensed, would be caught in the crossfire. He hadn't seen Eri fight very much- it was all in a fog (literally), behind curtains or just play tussling with the knifesman.

The dark man knew he was coherent. Will sensed this from the frequent sadistic looks the man shot him. So he had no trouble in saying, in a rough voice, "How ya holdin' up, Naifu?". Blood filled his mouth. He'd almost forgot he'd bitten his tongue at some point. Oh well. It just faded into the cloud of pain that was already whizzing through his brain. "Pretty good, all things consid-" the knifesman started, only to break off into a wheezing cough as the dark man wrapped his large hand around his neck and squeezed.

"So this is what the Pirate King's daughter's crew is like. Pitiful." The man sniffed in disdain and cut a long, jagged path across Raiden's thigh. Will could tell Raiden would have shouted if the hand wasn't preventing it. If there was ever a thing he didn't want to hear again, it would be Raiden in pain. He sounded like a dying cow mixed with a screeching veloceraptor. Perhaps Will would tell him about that when they got out of the mess they were in.

'If,' he ammended mentally. He swallowed, blinking blearily. Black spots were performing a show in front of his eyes, and he badly wanted to pass out, but that would be admitting defeat. And he didn't lose. If only he had Raiden's finesse for blades. If he really tried, he could totally fling that sword right between the dark man's eyes. It was literally, a finger's width away.

Will took a deep breath through his nose, and winced as he heard a loud crack. If his ribs weren't broken before, they certainly were now. He would go after the broadsword man. He'd dropped his sword when Raiden'd almost beat him, and had been too lazy to pick it up. Now he was stretched lengthwise in a booth nearby, attempting to wrap his shirt around a heftily bleeding arm wound. Raiden had indeed done a number on him- Will definately thought that it was simply the man's willpower that was keeping him from passing out. Will's fingers twitched towards the blade, and a slash on his shoulder proclaimed its disagreement, but he pushed it away.

Just as his fingers curled around the hilt, there was a loud (and familiar) yell. It was distinctly feminine, yet a bit lower than regular. Eri. Will lifted his head, a cut on his neck stinging, to stare at the two girls. They were framed in the doorway, holding very different expressions on their faces. The blue haired girl looked shellshocked and was staring in horror at the scene before them. 'Odd, I thought she'd be a bit more... umph,' he thought.

Eri was scary. Her hat was on her head, and he couldn't see the top half of her forehead. But from his vantage point, i.e the floor, the two angry veins that were pumping in her forehead were practically screaming 'anger' to him. Her dark eyes were narrowed into a piercing glare, something that would put the dark man's eyes to shame. Her teeth were bared in an animalistic snarl, not the cheerful grin he'd come to expect. (Honestly. He'd assumed she'd come strolling in with that stupid smile.)

He made a note to never make her angry. The black spots seemed to dash faster now, as if fueled by the sudden energy he felt waving off of her. The dark man and his partner turned to look at them, his partner in irritation and him in amusement. Raiden had enough energy to send her a meaningful look before dropping his head to his chest and promptly falling to sleep. If the situation wasn't so dire, Will would have laughed. But as it was, he could probably see his own stomach if he so wished. So he didn't. He released the sword, grateful he wouldn't have to use it.

Eri seemed to murmur quietly to the blue haired girl, who nodded and ducked away. To his surprise, she crouched by him to watch. He couldn't focus on that much though- couldn't really focus on anything. Not even the black dots, which seemed to be multiplying at a remarkable rate. Just before he was going to give in to his injuries, he heard her hardened voice. So different than the girlishly light and blitheringly stupid voice that he'd been used to.

"Don't you DARE, touch my nakama."

'Nakama?' he wondered, closing his eyes.

Eri didn't really see through the haze of red coloring her eyes. But she'd inferred enough. Will was on the ground, unconscious, and covered in fatal-looking wounds. Raiden was pinned like a dartboard to the wall by his shoulders and looked in even worse shape... he'd also passed out. On a brighter note, one of their men was out and another was basically on the verge. The only thing she had to do was take care of that damned dark man.

To add lighter fluid to the flame raging in her stomach, the dark man smirked. "You mean like..."- he poked Raiden right on one of his worser wounds, making the unconscious man wince- "this?" Eri's hands whipped to her back pocket, scrambling for her staff and coming up empty. She shot an angry look at the blue haired girl- it was her fault that she'd changed clothes and probably lost it somehow. Oh well. She'd win this with her bare fists if she had to.

She went for the wounded man first. Not even bothering with her fog. To her, that wasn't a very brave move. She'd realized that when she'd done it in Illusia- she'd hated the cowardly feeling it made her have. Sure, she had no problem doing it to Raiden when it was an unofficial battle. But in a real one, she'd decided she'd only use it as a last resort. And plus, she wanted that man to see this. Wanted to watch his face when he realized that she wasn't dead weight.

Her opponent barely lifted a finger as she jumped above him and smashed a fist into his face. She didn't even use full force. He collapsed limply, head stuck through the hole his head had made when it made impact. Somehow that made her angrier. These bandits had put the people of Orange Town through hell, and had recently killed someone near and dear to the blue haired girl. She didn't fully believe the girl was on board with her plan, but Eri already counted her as one of her nakama. The blue haired girl would come with her. Eri thought she was funny.

The dark man didn't seem to be paying attention. He was too busy slashing another crevice into her friend's arm. "DON'T TOUCH HIM, YOU BASTARD!" she roared, charging. Tables, chairs, lamps, scattered to the floor as she went towards him with an beastlike fury. The corner of a table caught her on the hip and barely jarred her. He turned and raised the bronze sword. That didn't jar her either. His hand was STILL on Raiden's arm, which was mangled with wounds and would take forever to heal.

She dodged the slash he made just barely, and did a roundhouse kick to the side of his thigh. Since he towered over her, she'd have to rely on the brief knowledge of the 'ouchie spots' that Juno-sensei had taught her. That didn't matter. She would shove her foot so far up his ass that the moon would feel it.

He struck her across the face with the heavy hilt of the sword in retaliation, causing her to tip a bit sideways. Though, that didn't cover the wince on his face when she'd connected. Good. She wanted to hurt him. Hurt him like he did to her nakama. She didn't have a sword yet, but she'd get that sword from him and she'd show him how to properly use it. She ducked a sideways blow, and struck out her feet again, this time hoping to trip him.

He barely moved.

'Big men and their issues,' she growled mentally, hopping up and throwing a punch. He caught it with his bear paw of a hand and squeezed, hard enough for her to feel the thin bones begin to bend achingly. She pulled back and rocketed closer, past the perimeter he'd set up with his sword. "You're small. Small people need to get close to their enemy. You don't have the long limbs like a taller person would, so make sure you get in there," Juno-sensei instructed in her mind. She shoved her better fist into his solar plexus, making him stumble back a few steps, and flashed a foot out to jab the area again.

The solar plexus, or the center of the torso, was another 'ouchie spot' that Juno-sensei had told her about. But she didn't stop there. Oh, no. He'd thrown her friends around as if they were ragdolls. So she ignored the sharp pains her back gave when his hastily sawing sword connected, and used all the speed she had to hit every 'ouchie spot' she could reach. Crotch, head, neck, suprasternal notch, armpits, outside of the thigh, kneecaps. She so wished she could reach the kidneys. It was easy to recite all the areas in her head- Juno-sensei had made sure of that.

Now she targeted them with all the rage she'd felt when she walked in like that. She was partly disappointed in herself- the dark man had warned her that this would happen. How could she have forgot? And she'd been gone as well. Left them open for attack. In the exact area where they would look. She had inadvertantly let down her own friends. 'That's ridiculous! You're the captain, dammit! You're supposed to be there for them!' She would kick herself, but it looked like the dark man was doing that for her.

'Wait... what?' Eri flew back and hit the opposite wall, cracking her head against the wood. Blood spurted from her mouth against her will as she felt the sheer force of his kick reverbrate through her entire body and stun her nerves. All he had done was kick her in the stomach and suddenly boom. That must have been the 'Haki' that Raiden had been blabbing about a while ago.

FLASHBACK:

It was a lazy day. The Sonata had only just set off yesterday, but Eri was already bored. She had nothing to do besides lie around and wish the men on the ship would let loose and play tag with her or something. And that was what she was doing- sprawled out atop the leopard and staring at the wide sky above. There were a few puffy clouds here and there today, and while it certainly didn't CURE the boredom, it helped.

"That's a cow. That's a caribou. That's a horse. That's a chicken. That's a fish. That's also a cow. Hey, Will, make me food." She sat up to stare behind her. Will was nowhere in sight, but Raiden was staring at her from his perch atop the rim of the ship. "He's the musician. Not the cook," Raiden said, and dropped into some sort of squat. 'Exercise training. Should've guessed,' she thought. "Well at least HE can make a mean oatmeal," she retorted snidely, though she was grinning.

The knifesman's eye twitched. "Whaddaya mean by THAT, eh?" he growled, hopping down from his spot and stomping over to stare her down. Eri twisted to face him. "I MEAN, you can't cook," Eri said cheerfully, waving her feet in the air childishly. "You lookin' for a fight, Mizetto?" Eri was slightly surprised. She didn't think he was so vulnerable about his cooking abilities. But maybe he had cabin fever too. "Only if you're ready for me to kick your ass," she challenged.

"Puh-lease. I'd Haki punch you into next week," he boasted confidently. "No weapons, no devil fruit, no enhancement of any kind. Just a spar," he added at the excited glint in her eye. She pouted, "That's not even fair. What the heck is a Haki punch? Isn't that a weapon?" Raiden sweatdropped. 'Does she really think a punch could be a weapon?' Nevertheless, it WAS an enhancement. He grinned slyly.

"Not a weapon. It's just a... stronger form of a punch, so to speak." Eri crossed her arms at that. "Enhancement," she declared, and hopped down from her perch. "Show me what it dooooeesssss." Raiden raised his eyebrows. Was she actually offering herself up as a test dummy to see what it was like? He focused his willpower as he spoke, coating his right arm to the elbow in the black shell.

"Well there're three kinds. I use Busoshoku Haki. The others are Kenbunshoku, and Haoshoku. Mine basically helps me infuse my spirit to either amplify my attack or create a shield for my defense. It's also the only way I can beat you." Eri cocked her head. 'Does he really think I'm that good at hand-to-hand?' Her eyes glittered mischeviously.  
"Oh yeah, probably. You kinda suck," she taunted cheerfully. Raiden's eyes narrowed and he struck out, his fist gliding through the air to dig into her solar plexus.

'If she wants to see what it does, she's gotta see how it FEELS,' he thought. This was, of course, his way of justifying his actions. She'd honestly been grating on his nerves lately. Eri's eyes contracted in surprise and pain. She flew back into the mast, hitting it with a sickening crunch. Raiden cooled off his fist on the side of his pants cerimoniously.

Eri fell to the ground in a kneel, coughing. Though when she looked up, she was grinning. "My old teacher used to use that on me when we fought. I didn't think Mantra and Haki were connected." Raiden's eyes widened at that. He knew the only people who called it Mantra were people in the storybooks he'd read as a kid. "Your teacher was from Skypeia?" he asked. Eri bobbed her head. "He told me one time. Don't really know where that is, though."

Raiden waved a hand. "Doesn't matter. It doesn't apply to us."

END FLASHBACK

Eri dropped into a kneel, hacking. She wouldn't be surprised if she was bleeding internally. 'Oh, they're using your first mate for knife practice, and you're worried about a few bumps and bruises?' she criticized herself harshly. Eri stood again, wheezing. She'd have to learn how to use it from Raiden when she beat the dark man. It worked quite well; she'd give him that. The dark man smirked, as if sensing her thoughts.

"What, are you just going to give me the stinkeye?" he taunted, holding his sword aloft carelessly. Eri set her jaw and dashed again, winding back an arm. A plan was slowly forming itself in her head. She feigned to the right as soon as she came within swinging distance, and spun her leg backwards, connecting with the side of his ribcage. That was actually not on the ouchie list, but it was damn close. The man stumbled to the side, and she ran to her knifesman.

She was thankful that he was knocked out when she unhinged him from the wall. Still, he grunted in pain as she removed the arrows and picked him up like a bride. The blue haired girl had gotten in position from her spot with Will, him being too heavy for her to carry him any way other than piggyback. Eri and the girl weaved between the tables and out of the joint, ignoring the cries of 'coward!' behind them, or the pounding feet which signaled that he was running after them.

"You really ran away?" the blue haired girl panted as they ducked into an alley far away. Eri rested her crewmates against a large trashcan and leaned against the wall, sprawling her legs out. The blue haired girl sat beside her. "No, I still plan on kicking his ass," Eri grinned at her. The blue haired girl raised a delicate eyebrow. "Then why did you leave?" In answer, Eri pointed at her crewmates. "They're in a bad way."

The blue haired girl shook her head. "You really are a tad ridiculous, ya know?" Eri crawled over to her friends and assessed their injuries, her smile quickly fading as she scanned them. When she looked back, the anger from before was back in her eyes. "I don't think it's ridiculous to want my friends to live, do you?" she muttered, tearing a strip off her own shirt and tying it tightly above Will's still-spurting arm. The spraying decreased dramatically.

"Take me to a doctor," Eri commanded finally, picking up her knifesman again. The blue haired girl groaned, "Up already?" but slung Will on her back again and led the way silently. They ducked from shadow to afternoon shadow, still very aware that they could get seen at any time. Blue hair led her all the way to the edge of town, and promptly slammed her fists repeatedly on the cottage door of some poor soul.

An ancient-looking man answered the door in his nightcap and striped pajamas. "The hell dya want at this ungodly hour," he snapped, wrinkled face set in a grimace. Eri looked up at the noon sun, confused, and back. "It's the middle of the day, doctor. Come help these men. They aren't doin too good." Blue hair pushed her way into the cottage without the man's consent, and Eri hastily followed. The old man locked the door and shut the blinds behind them.

Blue hair sat the musician down on a lumpy couch, and pointed at the one that sat across from it for Eri's benefit. Eri carefully sat laid him down, worried for the couches. "Goddamn. What the hell were you doing?" the man muttered, flitting over to a cabinet in the kitchen across the room. He flipped open a cabinet and started to take out numerous medical supplies- vials of oddly colored liquids, bottles of pills, cotton balls, a bottle of anteseptic, jars of ointment and rolls of bandages.

He rolled up his sleeves and brought the armload to them, throwing them down on the coffee table and assessing both their conditions before choosing Raiden to treat first. Then he hesitated. "Er. I'm going to have to strip him. You're free to wait outside." The girls exchanged red-faced looks before flying out the door and into the bushes beside it. "Hopefully he won't find us here," Eri murmured, wincing as a particularly sharp stick rubbed against her back.

"Oh, I forgot that you got hurt too. Are you okay?" the blue haired girl asked in concern. Eri bobbed her head. "Nothing I can't handle until they're done."

~~~ TIME SKIP-TO-MY-LOO ~~~

The blue haired girl was waiting in the living room, tense. The herbal tea the doctor had set in front of her sat untouched, as she hadn't noticed it. The doctor had came out not a half hour ago and pronounced that both boys were injured more than they let on, and were currently taking drips of morphine via IVs in their arms. he'd even confessed that he was surprised that Will had lived, saying that he'd sustained even more damage than Raiden. "Of course he lived," Eri had growled anxiously, "how long are they going to be out?"

The doctor had said at least a day. And then at her depressed expression, he'd pat her back. Without seeing the scarlet blood that stained it. Being a doctor, he noticed the slight wince she'd given. And was currently stitching her up in his guest room. This blue hair knew from the constant shrieks of anger and roared curses. 'Who would've thought?' the blue haired girl sweatdropped. Eri was different. She sustained all those bladewounds while fighting, and now she shows pain. She got straight back up from that Haki kick the dark man had delt to her abdomen.

Blue hair felt a bit inadequate. All she'd done was sit by and watch Will pass out. Obviously this wasn't her battle to deal with, but she was the protector. Why couldn't she help Eri? Why had she been in such a state of numbness that even Eri noticed and sent her back? When she'd told Raiden that she'd killed 47 criminals, it hadn't been a lie. When she was growing up, she was a trained marine executioner, and had been apprenticing for years under a ruthless man who taught her his ways before fleeing.

What was SO DIFFERENT about that situation, that she couldn't bear to face the dark man? Why was she so... so weak, all of a sudden? Blue hair pounded her fist into the couch cushion, as if it would help her vent her anger. There was something infuriatingly different about that man that made her scared of him. Something that hadn't been present yesterday. Blue hair stood, tying her hair into a knot at the nape of her neck.

She would find out.

A steady stream of curses exited Eri's mouth as the needle went into, _again_, her back. He was currently closing a particularly nasty gash, that was deep enough for him to see parts of her ribs. "GODDAMN, HURRY THE FUCK UP!" she screeched, pounding her fist into the pillow she was faceplanted in. Not only was the needle painful, and believe her, that man WAS NOT GENTLE, but the stitches he'd just put in were _already_ itching to high Heaven. She felt like doing a roundhouse and booking it.

"If you STOPPED MOVING, MAYBE I COULD!" the doctor roared back, pushing her kicking legs down so that they wouldn't kick. He would be damn sure to inject her with enough cold medicine to kill an elephant the moment he was done. Right now, though, he couldn't lift a hand a moment without her trying to flee. She had surprising force for a 13-something invalid. "GODDAMN OLD MAN, I AM 17!" she yelled. Oops- had he said that outloud?

Suddenly, he tied the knot and broke the needle from the last stitch, wiping his retreating hairline. Before she could run to her friends, like she'd been telling him the past thirty minutes, he beared down on her with a syringe and inserted it into the pale blue vein in her elbow. She narrowed her eyes critically at him as he took the needle out, not seeming to be phased by the four-inch-long needle or that it had opened a hole about the size of the tip of her pinkie.

"What was that?" she growled, watching him flit to his desk and grab a gauze and a large bandage. 'Typical. She only cares about the stitches,' he thought, ignoring her as he strapped the gauze to the streaming injection site with a bandage. She didn't seem to be giving in juuuust yet... he eyed her warily.

And then her eyes dimmed and she fell _onto her stitches,_ on the bed. He grunted something and went to his cabinet to retrieve the bandages to wrap around her torso. When she'd first taken her shirt off, he'd been faced with the ugly foot-shaped purple bruise that was formed on her stomach. And as he came back, bandages in hand, he couldn't help but wince. "He Haki kicked me into a wall," she'd proclaimed blankly.

He'd have passed out from that. Even now, he rolled her over and curled his nose as he worked. He'd prefer to place the cleanly stitched wounds than that ugly blemish that wouldn't fade for years or something. 'Clean...' he shuddered at how it'd gotten to that point. She about took his head off when he'd cleaned the would with the alcohol. He had no doubt she'd do it, either, if it wasn't for the fact that he told her that her raised voice would wake her friends.

Her only weakness. He rolled his eyes, looking across the room at them. His guest room was actually the entire upper floor of the cottage, fill with beds for the patients he took in. And the men took up two of them in the far corner, drips hooked to their hands and cooled rags on their foreheads. He'd of course cleaned their wounds, but he was a bit worried about the redheaded one- the blue haired girl had said he'd been lying on the ground for God-knows-how-long before they came to retrieve them.

Enough time to get infected, regardless of what he'd done after. And his temperature had risen exponentially, as the doctor had half-expected. The only thing he could do was fix up one of his own antibiotics and attach it to his other hand. It was strong stuff, and he knew based upon the way that the girl had responded, that he would live past it. He distantly wondered who they really were to survive such injuries, but his policy was to never ask questions. He couldn't help but think that he'd seen the girl somewhere or another, but it didn't matter. As long as he got paid.

The silver-haired one was just given a rag for precautionary purposes. Just in case the arrows were a bit rusty, he'd also gave him a tetinus shot in the thigh. Damn hard, too- his muscle was so built that it was touch to jiggle the needle in and be wary of not hurting any of the tender cords. And that needle... well. He definately wouldn't want to be on the recieving end of it. The doctor sat on an empty bed next to the girl, sighing.

There was a loud, harsh knock on his door, and he jumped up, leaving the three alone. They all probably wouldn't wake up for a day or two. At least, he hoped the girl wouldn't. He raced down the stairs, worried that there was another patient, and flung open the door. His jaw dropped involuntarily, and he snapped it shut hastily. Framed in the doorway was the bandit that had terrorized the town. _Leopard was at his doorstep._ The thought was enough to make the doctor die from fear.

He was holding up a wanted poster. "You seen this bitch?" he grunted roughly, resting a thick arm on his doorframe as he loomed over the doctor. The doctor made a show of pretending to examine the picture before shaking his head. "I'm sorry, no." He waited, hackles raised, and let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding when the man growled and stalked away. The doctor closed the door, panting now.

His eyes went to the steps up to his guest room. "12 million beli," he murmured. Then, his eyes went to the stacks of course rope in the corner, meant to tie up the packages of his special antibiotic when he needed to send them out to people but would certainly work well in restraining a person. He looked back at the stairs, and his genius brain began plotting.

~~~ TIME SKIP-TO-MY-LOO ~~~

The blue haired girl ran all the way to the doctor's cottage. She'd accomplished a few things- learned why she'd been so frozen when facing the dark man, gathered her stuff in a backpack that was now bumping against her rump as she ran, and most importantly, figured out something that probably wasn't a good thing. She had her senbon drawn, four needles that were clasped in between her right hand.

The doctor was many things. Genius, yes. Very good at his job, sure. But faithful? Hell to the no. She'd spotted the dark man showing Eri's wanted poster around town, and knew that if there was ever a time for the doctor to get rich, he would do so now. She dropped her backpack in the hedge as she flew through the front door, looking around hastily. Nobody was there. She scaled the steps two at a time, nearly contracting a splinter from one, and thrust open the door at the top of the stairwell.

In this room, her two companions were resting. But she was missing as well. The blue haired girl ran to the two men, and frantically shook their legs. Nothing. She dived for their IVs, tearing the tape off and ripping out the needles. Then, she screamed. Loudly. It took them a moment, but soon enough, they both awoke blearily. Raiden was first to sit up, and he glared at her. "What the hell?" he demanded, "I was sleeping."

Instead of answering, she pulled them both to their feet. Thankfully, they were both power machines, and didn't wobble a bit. The doctor really worked wonders. "He's going to turn Eri into the marines," she informed, and that was all it took. Raiden grabbed his belt from the bedside table and looped it through his cargo shorts, and Will took a deep chug from the water pitcher in between them, and then the trio was running.

"How the hell did he take her?" Raiden asked in disbelief. "He'd just injected her with some kind of sleeping agent. I wouldn't be surprised if she's still out," the blue haired girl said, leading them out the door quickly. There was only one way to turn in a pirate in Orange Town- and that was via a squat brownstone building in the middle of everything.

A few odd marines ran the building, and though it only had about six cells in it, they were all perfectly equipped to hold pirates- seastone barred, concrete enforced walls, nothing to use and nothing in reach, the whole 9 yards. It took three minutes to get there. And it had been ten minutes ago when she saw the dark man scouring the town. For all they knew, Eri was probably already in a cell. Raiden was squeezing his #1 knife in his hand, and Will was still fixing his ponytail when they finally faced it.

And then, everyone fainted and the trio felt like doing the same.

The dark man was no idiot. That stupid old quack wasn't the best actor out there. It was beyond simple to intersect him before he hit the marine building and take the girl from him. A simple fist to the head, and the doctor was head-deep in the town's communal trashcan. The dark man had been finishing the walk to the marine building when the girl he'd flung over his shoulder awoke silently. He'd almost made it when she'd performed an illusion, murmuring a quiet, "Misuto Misuto no Dupe-licate."

And suddenly, Eri was standing in front of him. As he stared, bewildered, she blew a raspberry at him and ran off, laughing. The dark man immediately dropped Eri on the ground, figuring he'd just picked up a fake, and ran after her, the crowd parting like the red sea with scared faces. Then, the brat he'd been chasing disappeared in a poof of smoke. Other people obviously noticed, for they stared from him to the girl who was getting to her feet with a confident set to her chin.

He whirled, and the brat had that damned brazen glint in her eye. Proud, blunt, and unafraid. His Haoshoku had no effect on her, even though he was waving it out and making many passerby faint in the process. What was the point of being one in a million when he couldn't. Fucking. Use it? He yelled an obscenity at her and charged like a bull, hand gripping his hilt and readying to swing it down on her head. The bounty DID say 'dead or alive'.

She dodged to the side at the last moment, and kicked him in the center of the back. He stumbled a few feet forward and whirled, thrusting his sword. She clapped the blade between her palms and twisted, breaking his hold just enough for her to fling it behind her and use the momentum as she fell to fling a sandaled foot towards his face. It connected with his jaw, and he was flung into the air for a moment. A brief moment of weightlessness, during which he could practically FEEL the teeth flying from his open mouth.

She landed on her feet after the kickover, and crossed her arms. "You nearly killed my musician. You pinned my knifesman to the wall as if he was your own personal pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. You scared my executioner to the point of shock. You had the nerve to strip people of their money, of their homes and food and in some cases, family members." Eri cracked her knuckles. This time, she would not run. There was too much riding on his defeat for that.

"I'm going to shove my foot so far up your ass your great-grandmother will feel it!"

The blue haired girl was crouched between the two men, watching Eri face off against the dark man. She looked royally pissed, and to be honest, a bit terrifying. The dark man was expressionless, the waves of sheer strength rolling off him in away that made her want to run away. "Haoshoku Haki," Raiden said, and ran to Eri's side from their hiding spot. The blue haired girl reached out an arm as she went, nearly yelling out at him to come back but realizing that wouldn't be a very good idea.

Will remained by her side, though by his intake of breath she knew he wanted to get out with her. The blue haired girl grabbed his shoulder in warning. "No. You've got a fever, and you've probably contracted an infection, and you'll rip off all your stitches. He isn't going to be up close and personal like you have to." That seemed to convince him, and he sat back against the building, looking a tad worried.

"Are they sure they can take a bounty twice Eri's own?" he asked, craning his neck around the corner to watch them square off. Eri seemed to be whispering to Raiden in his ear, completely ignoring the dark man. "I've no doubt they'll win. The only reason Eri didn't rip that man to shreds for nearly killing you two is because well, you guys were half dead." Will sighed and subconsciously pressed a hand to the cut on his face. "Well at least she didn't just completely forget about us."

The two pirates charged in unison, then, and they fell into a tense silence.

Raiden was very surprised he was standing upright. The dark man was certainly well versed in this field of Haki, and Raiden would like nothing more than to flee the area. But his pride said 'hell no, keep it coming.' So he did. He sped past the dark man and ducked the sword. He was able to land a pretty good cut on the man's side. He turned to stare at Eri, who looked like she was meditating. "The hell are you doing!" he shouted.

She hopped up, expression unreadable. "Becoming one with nature." Raiden looked around. They were surrounded by brick buildings, street lamps and concrete. "Bull!" Eri took her shot at the man then. She kicked at the flat of the blade as it passed by, directing it off course enough for her to land a solid punch in the man's... family jewels. The man grunted and seemed to double over, as much as possible for a giant of his stature at least.

Raiden gave him another soon-to-be battle scar across his back and slammed his foot into his back so that he fell, already off-kilter. Eri stomped the hand that held the sword, and was slightly surprised when it arched up to tear her arm off, or something. The man got up quicker than they'd thought, and seemed to fist fight Eri. Raiden felt a bit ignored. "It doesn't hurt if you can't touch me, you idiot," Eri taunted, and grabbed the man's fist as it flew past her neck.

She twisted it with as much force as she could, then slammed her foot upwards, directing it at his elbow. It bent the wrong way, and there was a sickening crack. The dark man roared like some kind of beast and Eri had to duck out of the way. The dark man turned his back on her and started stalking Raiden, raising his good fist. Raiden ducked to avoid being beheaded and kicked his shin childishly.

Raiden alighted on his feet next to his captain. "I think I'm destroying everything the doctor did," he muttered to her. His torso had already started leaking blood again, staining his shirt. "Then let me do it," she replied, and left his side. The man charged her like a bull, sword aimed straight for her. He hoped to impale her. She jumped, barely dodging the blade, and double kicked his face, throwing him backwards.

But she didn't stop there, she kept going. 'Ah, wonder why this seems familiar,' Raiden thought sarcastically. The dark man was holding up much longer than he had, and was returning with shattering blows just as she was. Thankfully he wasn't as slippery as she was, and it wasn't long before they cancelled eachother out. Both fists, one encased in black armor and one dripping the blood of its opponent, connected with eachother's faces. Both flew back and hit buildings with enough force to blow them through the walls.

Will could feel the girl ripping herself from their hiding spot, and followed, ignoring the wave of dizziness he felt when he stood. Raiden was staring at the two holes in the buildings opposite eachother with wide eyes. "Goddamn. Eri flew into the marine building. I think he used Haki, too." They exchanged looks and simultaniously bolted for the hole. Looking through the fog of dirt, they could see her outline on the far wall, supported on a bed of bricks.

The six or so marines were staring at her, confused. Raiden hopped through the hole and dodged around a few desks to reach her. She was in bad shape- the imprint of the man's fist was imbedded into her cheek, and her eyes were rolled back, blood creating a river from her mouth. He picked her up from the rubble and left the building calmly, though inside he was screaming, "WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GO NOW!"

The two on the outside were staring towards the other hole. Nobody was coming out of it, so it was safe to say he was defeated. But then again... "We're gonna have to hide," he said, and started running. Shouts were already flying around from the marines. "Doctor's, or boat?" he asked, panting slightly as they ran down the main street. "Who said I'd go with you, eh?" the blue haired girl demanded immediately.

"Boat. Don't want it to get taken," Will said. Both men ignored the blue haired girl's comment. Eri would get her to join. It was futile to resist.

Will awoke to shouts. Roared, angry words that demanded that they came out with their hands up, that they surrender and leave before things got ugly. He could see his companions' eyes already open from where they laid on the deck. They had expected this, and in theory, he shouldn't have fallen asleep, but it wasn't his fault. The blue haired girl looked scared for once, with her knees curled to her chest. "I don't want to be hunted," she whispered. That was why they'd stuck around- Eri could persuade all she wanted, but she couldn't _kidnap _her. They were hoping to give her time to think on it.

The two other pirates aboard had disappeared from sight, leaving Will to guard both the ship and the girl in their wake. Soon enough, screams errupted from the multitude of soldiers on the ground. They must have called reinforcements. Suddenly, a hand was gripping his elbow tightly. He looked down, surprised, to see the girl holding onto him as if she'd seen a ghost.

He leaned down, and rested a hand on the girl's shoulder. "What's your name?" The question was partly to calm her, partly to lure her attention away from what was happening around them, and partly genuine curiousity. She looked up at him, with eyes the precise shade of ocean water. Before, they had been deceptively wide and innocent, without her even trying. And now, it seemed like all the deception was gone- she looked vulnerable, for the first time. Her voice wobbled as she whispered, "I don't know."

So she _did _have amnesia. He risked a pat to her head, worried that she'd go all Karate Kid on him, and said, "Why don't we call you something else until we can find out who you really are?" She seemed to deliberate, eyes staring at the floor in front of her feet. He knew she knew that he was implying that she stay with them. And he hoped that she'd come willingly, because Eri was the type to get what she wanted. To just think about what she'd said to him in the Hub that night...

"I think I might like to be called Delphine. It has a ring to it." Will's lips curled upwards. "Del, then. You do seem like a Delphine." Del smiled, and this time, it wasn't a sarcastic one. It was genuine, even a bit cheesy. "Agreed." She let go of his arm, looking much calmer than before. This time, she actually had a name. She wasn't 'that girl' or 'blue' or some combination of the two. She was Del- at least, for now. She'd regain her memory. That was not a goal, or a dream, but a reality.

The silence told them when the marines were finally defeated.

* * *

***- That was a Fullmetal Alchemist reference. A cookie to those who get it~~!**

**Anyway, I know. Long, right? I just randomly found Delphine's name online and thought hey, if I shorten it to 'Del', it sounds cool. So I rolled with it. R+R~~~?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Guest: Nami. Says so in the little tid-bit before the first chapter- or at least, it's implied. :)**

**I'm sad! This chapter is dull. Apologies in advanced. But I digress- enjoy.**

CHAPTER SIX: A Meeting

_We, we all have days full of doubt_  
_We've all been lost in the crowd_  
_We all fall short, we all make mistakes_

_But you, you pick yourself up and you fight_  
_You do what you need to survive_  
_So breathe every breath like it's the last you'll take_

* * *

"You're seriously, the most ridiculous excuse for a captain I've ever laid my eyes on," Del said, checking the compass for the first time since they'd set sail. "Hard to starboard!" she called, and Will grunted loudly to show he'd heard. She'd hoped that Eri at least had some navigational skills, but apparently not. "So we need a navigator. Who cares? We can pick one up in uh... what was it, Shikamaru* Island?" Del sighed, resisting the urge to facepalm.

"Shimotsuki Village, baka." They'd agreed to going there on Eri's own discretion. She'd insisted that there was some sort of clue to her father's whereabouts there, and she didn't seem to really care that she was pushing back the whole 'Grand Line' thing. Del didn't really give a hoot nor howl if they did go there- all that mattered to her was that she regained her memory. Will and Raiden didn't seem to agree.

Del didn't exactly know what their dreams were, but the obviously relied on the Grand Line to help them out. She had ended up helping Eri's cause, though, bring up the whole part about how they would probably end up in the Calm Belt because none of them were very gifted navigators. Raiden was probably the closest thing they had to one, and even then... "OI! LAND HO!" Raiden shouted, from his perch in the bird's nest.

She nodded to herself. They couldn't get lost now. "So what's so important about Shimotsuki, captain?" she asked curiously. Eri hadn't really elaborated when they'd set sail days ago. Eri stood up precariously atop the figurehead and proclaimed, "Roronoa Zoro comes from here!" There was a thump behind them, and Del whirled. Raiden was faceplanted into the ground, ass in the air. He straightened, groaning and rubbing his nose.

"Roronoa Zoro! Why do you think he's got a connection with your father?" he asked, forgetting momentarily about his injuries. Del threw a sideways glare at nothing in particular as she muttered, "Goddamn machines..." "Well he was my dad's swordsman. Didn't you know?" Eri made it sound as if it was common knowledge. "Yeah, sorry if I didn't like reading up on pirates in a town with literally dozens of marine dogs at every corner," Raiden grunted.

"How are we so sure he's there, anyway?" Will asked, emerging from the control room with his shirt wrapped around his waist and sweat beading his forehead. It was a hot day indeed. "Well after I was born they kind of dispersed. Went back to wherever and that was that. I saw my mom once when I was about ten, and she told me that Roronoa Zoro went back to his birthplace. Which is here."

Del idly wondered who her mother was, but didn't pry. They docked the boat in a mostly empty harbor, and left Will to deal with its protection. He seemed glad to do so, as well, because he waved cheerfully as they left. "Lazy," Eri criticized. Raiden slapped her on the arm as if he were scolding her. "Sick," he corrected. Will had contracted an infection after all, and since they had none of the wonder medicine aboard, he'd been forced to take it easy. His monster immune system, of course, probably was already pushing the last of the bacteria out of him anyway.

"So... where do you think he is?" On cue, Raiden and Del fell to the ground in woe. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO KNOW, BAKA-MIZETTO!" Raiden yelled, irritated at the stupid grin on her face.

* * *

In the end, they splintered off once the village started and hoped for the best. Raiden, being the smartest (in his opinion) of the three, had asked a villager where the dojo was located, and was now standing before it, feeling a bit apprehensive. What if he'd slowed down a bit? THe man had to be at least in his early forties by now. For all he knew, Zoro could be at home, sipping tea and reading a novel on his front porch steps.

Raiden shook his head at the thought. Zoro was known for his monster strength. It wasn't like he was some white haired grandpa. Raiden passed the gates with renewed vigor and didn't let his shock show when a... rather old, man appeared at his side. His long, dark gray hair was tied back in a ponytail, and he wore a boring (also gray) robe. Just like that, all Raiden's confidence faded. "A-Are you Roronoa Zoro?" he asked.

He couldn't believe this man was a pirate. He looked more likely to teach yoga classes at the senior citizens' center. The man smiled. "Heavens, no! My name is Koshiro, I'm the master at this particular dojo." Raiden's shoulders dropped in relief. "Well, do you know where I could find him?" Koshiro's smile never faded, though he seemed to tense a bit. "And why would you want to find him?" Koshiro asked, dark eyes dropping down to Raiden's weapon belt and back again.

Raiden could've laughed. This Koshiro guy thought he was here to assassinate him! 'I wouldn't push my luck with that one,' he sweatdropped. He'd probably die if he tried that one. "My captain wants to talk to him," he admitted. Koshiro seemed to deliberate. "...And what would pirates want with him? Surely you don't have any... ideas, correct?" The eyes flitted down to his belt again.

"Look. I have no idea what runs through a mind like her's. Just tell me if he's here."

Koshiro hmmed. "Your captain is a woman?" Raiden almost nodded, then stopped. "Well she's more of a girl. Younger than me, at least. Not the point. Is he here or not?" Raiden felt like he was wasting his time. Koshiro obviously was reluctant in giving up Zoro's location.

Koshiro hmmed again and said, "Tell you what. Get your crew over here, and then we'll talk." He then turned and walked away, leaving Raiden stranded at the gate. He grumbled a curse under his breath and stomped away to find his friends.

* * *

Eri was seated at a bar, shovelling food into her mouth. Yes, she was here for a purpose, but there was no law prohibiting her from feeding her starving stomach. "So, old man, you know if I can find a Roronoa Zoro round here?" she asked the barkeep, pausing in her assault on the flank of a lamb. The barkeep looked shocked that she was asking such a thing, and also a tad offended, since he hadn't even reached his thirty fifth birthday. "I hope you don't plan to cash in on his bounty. Any poor soul who's tried have walked away with their egos stripped along with half their bodies," he replied cautiously.

She fumbled around in her pocket and unearthed a crinkled photograph. It was the only thing she'd ever recieved from her mother, and was yellowed with age. She showed him. "I'm trying to find him." Her finger strayed towards Luffy to tap him right over his hat. "I've got a few questions." The barkeep's eyes seemed to pop. "H-HAVE YOU GOT A DEATHWISH?" he cried shrilly. Eri returned the picture to her pocket, shoulders jerking in laughter.

"I said I had questions, not that I wanted to off his head," she giggled. Idly, Eri wondered how many people blew through to try their luck against the Greatest Swordsman In The Whole Damn World. Probably alot; she guessed it was a pride thing. "Still, it's not a good idea, girly," the man insisted. Eri felt touched, but at the same time a bit offended. She could do anything she rightly liked, thank you! She didn't need somebody to tell her that it wasn't a good idea. She knew he was a good person- therefore, it was indeed a good idea.

"I think that I know what I'm doing, grandpa." She flicked a gold coin on the counter and stood, placing her hat on her head in finality. When she turned back around, the man looked terrified. "By the way. You never answered. Where is Roronoa Zoro?" The barkeep 'meep'ed and began to frantically clear her dishes from her spot. "He should be at the Isshin dojo, m-ma'am." She nodded her thanks and skipped out, as if she was ten instead of seventeen.

"Straw hat," the barkeep squeaked.

* * *

'Dango is seriously the best stuff out there,' Del thought happily, sliding another ball of the stick in her hand with her teeth. She had a box tucked under her arm that held another dozen. She'd gotten it from a weird street vendor guy, who was older than the hills... and pervier than them too. Shimotsuki village wasn't very populated, but there were many stands set up, and a few people very much liked that. Very few shops were there along the roads, and those that were were super sized and sold either food, or apparel.

Del snuck into a particularly dark one called 'Stud', a michievous smile on her face. Yes, she was sort of asking around for him, but every time she did people either would walk away with their noses in the air, or warn her off him and not tell her anything. It was maddening, and she needed a break. There was an entire bag of beli in her pocket, so why the hell not?

Stud was indeed dark. The only illumination came from the candles that were in holders mounted along the walls, and a single bulb crackling by a wire from the ceiling. 'How much you wanna bet they do this so you can't read the pricetag?' she thought in amusement. Most of the merchandise they had were men's clothing, hats and a few different types of shoes. There was a small patch in the left hand corner that held a few unisex satchels, but other than that, this store was obviously not meant for women.

The boy sitting behind the front counter was shamelessly flipping through a Playboy magazine, and didn't even look up as she entered. Del wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Sup man. You're lucky. This is half-off hour," he said boredly. "For your information, I'm not a man," Del replied caustically, eating another ball off the stick. She tossed the sticky, well, stick into a nearby bin and cracked open the box to grab another.

This time the boy looked up. From the slight stubble that grew on his chin, Del guessed he was around her age, with dark and guarded eyes and a perminant scowl on his face. 'Why is that so familiar,' she thought sarcastically, a picture of Raiden forming in her mind. "Well, uh, you do know this is a guy shop, right?" he said awkwardly, casually sliding the magazine off the counter. It landed with a flop, and he didn't make a move to pick it up.

She felt like laughing. Instead she settled for smirking, her brazen attitude shining through. "Damn, again with this? I can't believe people have so many issues with crossdressers. Jeesh," she grumbled, crossing her arms for added effect. The boy waved his hands frantically. "N-No, it's just a b-bit surprising!" he said. Seeming to ignore the fact that she was in a blue-and white striped blouse and a denim miniskirt. "Dude. I was joking. I'm just bored."

As if proving a point, she began to peruse the racks of clothes until she got to the Wall O' Hats. There was everything there- cowboys hats, bandannas (did those count as hats?), helmets, even a multicolored afro that could probably be considered a helmet on its own. It even had that damned paperboy hat that Raiden _never took off_. Her interest was piqued when her eyes fell upon a tan packer hat, leather straps tied through two metal rings in its top and forming a loop to hang it from her neck.

She took it down from its hook and experimentally placed it on her head, glancing at herself through the grimy mirror that was mounted next to it. The hat seemed to dwarf her, almost dropping to her browline, and only a few pieces of her blue hair flipped up from under it. She looked like a child playing dressup, yet she couldn't help but squeal. "This hat is cool!"

She set the box down so she could reach for her bag of coins, glancing at the pricetag that hung from the bill and in her eyes. 400 beli. That was actually pretty cheap- she could live with that. She gripped the right amount in her hands and went to the counter to pay, rolling the coins casually over the glass at him. Then, remembering her real mission, she asked, "By the way, do you know where I could find Roronoa Zoro?"

The boy froze in the act of counting her money and stared at her. "I sincerely hope you aren't one of those idiots who think they can defeat him. Because really. Nobody can." Del didn't bother pointing out that his view was bias and said, "Noooo, my captain needs to ask him a few questions." The boy handed her back her change silently, and offered to remove the tag for her.

She ripped it off casually on her own instead and waited patiently. "...I heard he practices alot at Isshin dojo. That's all." He then turned his attention elsewhere, and she walked out happily. A lead! She walked up to the nearest pedestrian, an old woman, and asked the directions.

The woman, rather suspiciously, pointed down the road and said, "At the second intersection, turn right." Then walked away. Del didn't mind her terseness- she was kind of in a rush too. She just hoped her crewmates were having as much luck as she was.

* * *

The first person Raiden ran into was Eri. He'd gone to the 'rougher' part of the village on a whim, and she'd not dissapointed. "Hey so I went to Isshin dojo and-" he started, only for her to interrupt. "Oh, really? That's what grandpa in there said. How was it?" Raiden made a face. "The man there was really weird. He told me to round up my crew and then we'd talk." Eri laughed, "Weird people are always the best people. Where'd Del go?"

To which he shrugged. "Dunno. But she's probably gonna end up at the same place anyway..." he trailed off, eyes locking on the short girl that was darting down the street with a grin. He couldn't really tell from the back, but he was pretty sure that would be Del. "...Aaaand she's gonna beat us there. C'mon." He grabbed Eri (who was oblivious) by the elbow and ushered her on, going back the way they came.

He was happy that it hadn't taken all that long to round them up. But he was also worried- would the swordsman laugh at them once he saw the measly crew Eri'd slung together? He could imagine it now. "Is that everyone you've got?" the man would scoff. And then Eri would reply with a, "Nooo, my musician is guarding my ship for me!" and Del and Raiden would die from embarassment and the swordsman would cackle madly and not help at all.

Raiden sighed theatrically. He needed to lighten up. He'd inherited his pessimistic attitude from his father and it had stuck around like an annoying fly that just. Won't. Die. In all honesty, he was afraid of the coming events- which made him feel weak, considering that Del and Eri were chatting animatedly about it with large grins on their faces. Zoro had such a large reputation in the East Blue that it wasn't even funny.

Logue town never shut up about it, even after all the years he'd been supposedly 'out of commission'. Zoro did this, that, and he killed the other thing. Hey, did you hear Zoro sent one guy flying into the middle of the ocean and nobody ever saw him again? I heard he once chopped an entire village in half for forgetting his fatty tuna when he ordered it. Remember that time Zoro walked on water? How bout when Zoro used eight swords instead of three? The time Zoro took out a whole pirate fleet in the Grand Line because they disturbed his nap? No, that was Hawkeye Mihawk! Bullshit! I swear on my still-living grandmother's grave that it was Zoro!

He felt like he knew his life story from listening to the gossip. Now, he didn't believe half of it, but it certainly brought chills down his spine. "We're here!" Eri announced, thrusting the rusting gate inward theatrically. Del giggled and said something about pigheadedness, to which Eri replied that she didn't have a snout. Raiden rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to think up the best _passive_ agressive way to handle things.

Before he could make them sit down and construct daisy chains, Koshiro appeared, a sword in his hand. He scoffed confidently at them, though he remained expressionless. "Pitiful." He seemed to leer at Eri when he said, "Of course women are a bit weaker than men, so I don't blame you at all, dear." Eri's eyebrows raised, and she looked back to Raiden as if for guidance. "Can I hit him?" Raiden and Del threw their hands in the air in unison. "YOU'RE THE CAPTAIN!"

Raiden shouldered past her to glare at Koshiro. "I did what you want. Now can we talk with him already?" Koshiro held up his sword and said, "If you can defeat me and make me drop my sword you may pass, knifesman." Raiden raised his eyebrows and released knife #1 from her sheath. This would be no target practice- and since #1 was the biggest of them all, well, he had to keep it as equal as possible. The girls plopped down against the cement wall as if readying themselves for a show.

It was alot like dancing. Raiden wasn't in his element here- he was more used to aiming to maim or seriously injure, throwing things and getting his way. Just powelling around with this man and trying not to kill him was figuratively killing Raiden as well. He knew little to nothing about swordsmanship, even if the knife and the sword were so closely related.

So he went with his sheer strength and brutality instead of stealth and grace, like Koshiro was relying on. Sure, he couldn't dance, but he could charge. And that was how it was for a while, Koshiro prancing around and faking him out while Raiden charged and aimed to hit the sword out of the man's white knuckle grip. Until Eri decided that she was bored and hollered, "Seriously, Raiden, just do it the way you know how!" Raiden snuck a glance at her out of the corner of his eye. She looked annoyed.

So he jumped back for a moment, sheathing #1 and removing a throwing knife. This time he danced awkwardly with the man until he got a good shot, and took it. The blade whistled straight and true towards Koshiro's hand, who immediately dropped his sword to avoid losing a pinkie and caught it out of the air with the hand. He tossed it back, and Raiden fumbled to catch it. Koshiro smiled. "Your captain is a wise person."

He led them into one of the buildings on the lot and down a hall, into a wide, expansive room. It was mostly empty, save for the bin of wooden katana by the door and a few straw mannequins pushed up against the side. In the middle of the room stood a man practicing on one of the mannequins. He said something with a voice too low to hear and charged, a blur. When he passed the mannequin and sheathed his swords, the mannequin fell apart, straw disks tumbling to the floor and rolling. The man kicked one with a socked foot casually.

Raiden and the others took off their shoes as they entered as well. "And these are the brats you were telling me about, Koshiro?" he grunted, staring at them cooly. Raiden self-consciously swallowed. Roronoa Zoro was even more intimidating than he'd thought he'd be. He was muscular and tall, and to top it off, shirtless. Even Raiden admired the work that he'd put in to get his body to look like that. "Yes they are," Koshiro said.

The man waved a hand impatiently. "So? Ask your questions already." In answer, Eri unfurled the rolled up photograph and flicked it at him with a finger. It sailed towards him and his hand shot out like a bullet to catch it. "My mother told me to show you this if I ever did find you," she informed as he stared at it a moment. He flung it back like a disk, and she pocketed it again. The entire exchange seemed to go in fast motion.

"I was wondering why that lump of old rabbit bedding looked so much like Luffy's," he admitted, much different from before. Zoro didn't seem so bored anymore; in fact, Raiden figured he looked a little excited. He waved them forward casually, and sat indian style on the floor. The trio copied him after a moment. "So. I don't suppose she sent you, did she?" he inquired. Eri shook her head. "Haven't seen her for years. But I'm more interested in Dad- considering I haven't seen him in... ever." Eri sounded a tad bitter.

She wasn't being hyperbolic. "That doesn't surprise me. He always did do stupid things when we traveled together," Zoro empathized, looking awkward as he did it. "Do you have any clue where we can find him?" Eri asked, bouncing now. But she stopped when Zoro shook his head. "No clue. Last time I was in contact with him, he was in Raftel, and that was years ago." Eri blinked blankly at him for what Raiden thought were hours before Zoro muttered, "Oh wait, I forgot. You're HIS kid."

"Raftel is the last island in the Grand Line before you hit the New World," he clarified. She made an 'ohhh' sound then straightened. "It's an idea. By the way. Did you ever find the One Piece?" The question made Zoro stiffen as if he'd been electrocuted, and he gave her a guarded look. "...And why would you want to know?" he demanded, eyes narrowing. 'Real suspiscious guy we've got here,' Raiden thought, sweatdropping.

"Cause I want to know if there's something out there that's worth it before I start digging up the island looking for it," she replied bluntly. Zoro waited a bit, probably thinking it over, before he said, "There's something there, yeah. Worth it, maybe. What you'd expect, no." His lips curled into a slight smile, crinkling a scar on his face. He didn't really look forty when he smiled, Raiden thought.

"Look. If you're anything like my captain, everything will work out in the end. Now get out of my dojo-" -Koshiro interjected with a 'my dojo, you slimy invertibrate'- "Koshiro's dojo, and find the One Piece. If I see you again before you're Pirate Queen, I'll pound you and the rest of your puny trio into the dirt."

Eri grinned a million watt smile as she ammended, "Quartet! My musician is guarding the ship!" Raiden facepalmed. Was he psychic? Zoro raised his eyebrows. "I don't suppose it's a dinghy, is it?" This time, Raiden butted in before Eri could say anything more stupid crap. "No, we got rid of it." He stood, and politely offered an arm to the two girls still on the ground. Del accepted; Eri did not.

"I 'spose you don't want to join my crew, do ya?" she asked instead.

Zoro burst into incredulous laughter. "_HELL_ no. I'm much too old to be doddering around with a bunch of brats like you." Raiden leaned towards Del and whispered, "Who the hell says 'doddering' anymore?" Del laughed quietly behind a hand and didn't reply.

Eri slumped as she stood, her cheeks puffed up to the max degree. "I thought you could help us find Dad," she whined. Zoro's face contracted ruefully, and he hesitated before saying, "You've obviously never heard the stories. I've got a bit of a... problem... with, er, navigating... and shit."

His face hardened as if daring them to comment and he stood as well, thrusting out a hand. "Come back when you're worth meeting." Eri grinned and shook it twice with surprising force. She turned away after that, and waved a hand. "Will do, jii-san," she sang. The trio broke for it in laughter as Zoro began screaming threats at their backs, Raiden barely blocking a flying mannequin. 'Fast,' he thought nervously.

They erupted into the sunlight in childish giggles. All of a sudden, Eri sombered up. "Well this was pretty pointless. He's got no clue where Dad is, he won't tell us what's at the end of the line, and he didn't join to help," she said, sighing. Del pressed a comforting hand on her shoulder as she replied, "You finally met someone close to him, though. Is that really so useless?" Raiden nodded in ascent. Sure, it wasn't THE Pirate King, but it was his right hand man. Surely that counted for something. "Anyway, let's set sail. I'll bet Will's feeling a bit annoyed right about now," Del continued, and took the lead.

* * *

Will wasn't feeling annoyed, actually. He'd had an enjoyable time all alone for once, away from everyone with nary a screech to be heard. And he'd gotten so much done, as well- he'd reviewed and narrowed down the islands his sister could be at from the maps Del had provided, though it was still pretty extensive. He held up the thick cardstock paper to the light, hoping for the ink to dry faster. "She's on one of those islands," he thought, running his finger down the numbers he'd listed them in.

His sister was predictable in a way that only he would know. She had interests that only he would know about- such as her hatred for muggy climates, but her equal distaste for the dry. She hated the cold, but she felt even worse towards the hot. All in all, it narrowed down the seasons of the islands and therefore, the islands, to just spring and fall. He'd figure out the correct route to go to hit them all as they sailed down the Grand Line, but he would take one step at a time.

He rolled up the maps he'd borrowed and stuck them back into Del's satchel that rested by his foot. She'd gone back to her temporary room as soon as the marines were taken out and grabbed everything she'd ever need, ever. Including the wardrobe she'd been able to collect in the few days she was there. 'Women,' he sweatdropped, and pushed back his chair. His hand ached. There were more islands in the Grand Line than he'd thought. And some of them weren't even on the map- it being old enough to be his grandmother's grandmother.

Still, he felt good about where he was going. She wouldn't pick somewhere that was next to empty, because she was smart, but definately wouldn't pick somewhere heavily populated. He vividly remembered her announcing vehemently every time they arrived back from the market, "I HATE crowds!" Then she'd run up the stairs to her room as if the devil himself was on her tail and not come back down until called for dinner.

"Where the hell are you?" he murmured, twining his fingers behind his head. He wanted badly to prove that he hadn't meant what he'd said. It was years ago. He was just a kid- he didn't know the wounds he'd inflicted upon her. However, that still didn't give him the right to lash out as he did. Stupid, rash, careless child. He'd never make that mistake again. The pain that never really left his chest had faded slightly as soon as he'd agreed to come with Eri- he was actually going to find her. And then he could explain what he couldn't all those years ago.

FLASHBACK:

"Nee-chan, come play pirates with us!" Ten-year-old Will was bashing on his sister's door with enough force to rattle the house. Beside him, his best friend Ryoichi was sighing and dramatically shaking his head. "She won't do it, Will, she's too old to play around with us," he mumbled rejectedly, staring down at his dirty feet. Will simply ignored it. Ryoichi was always a pretty depressed person- or at least, he looked like it. Will didn't think that he was all that sad in reality, though he knew his family at home were pretty rough and tough.

He banged again. "NEEEEE-CHHHAAAANNNN!" The door flew open, and out popped an enraged redhead with the glare of a practiced pirate captain. The two boys comically held eachother and squealed, "She's going to eeeaaattttt ussss!" Paz's glare softened, and she flicked back her hair as she crouched beside them. Her brown eyes gazed steadily at them, though not unkindly. "You should really listen to Ryo-kun, otouto. I'm three years older than you- that means that I've much better things to do than chillax with you kids."

Will glared at her, all hesitation gone. "That's stupid! Thirteen isn't that old! We have ships and stuff already, why can't you play?" Paz jerked her thumb behind her. "I'm not going to pretend that I'm doing anything. I just find it dumb to be powelling around with you losers." Now, Paz hadn't meant that. It was of course a big sister's duty to pick on her brother, and that applied to his bratty friends as well.

Of course, ten-year-old Will didn't understand that. "We're not losers, baka yarou! If anything, YOU'RE the loser!" he cried, balling his fists, "You just sit in your room all day and do nothing! Do you even go to school? Do you even have friends? Where's your dreams, huh?!" He didn't like being called a loser. And having it become like a second name over the years had utterly pissed him off. But he couldn't stop the twinge in his chest as his sister adopted a hurt expression.

"...That doesn't matter. My dreams won't come true," she admitted eventually, straightening until she towered over them again. She seemed a bit tense. "And that's why you lay around all day! Hmph, I just think it's you being lazy. Me and Ryoichi have dreams, right?" Will looked at his friend for help, who wordlessly shook his head. Ryoichi, being the smarter one, knew better than to get into this one-sided argument.

"I'm not lazy, goddamn it. Do you think we have the choice to 'listen to our hearts' and have a 'fist first philosophy' and all that crap? It's ridiculous." She grabbed the collar of his shirt and picked him up off the ground, her muscular arm bulging as she did so. She went nose to nose with him, as if that'd help him see things her way.

"We come from a family of poor shipwrights that breeds like rabbits. We live in a weak kingdom with a weak king and we're more impoverned than the people on the streets!"

Paz sighed, her warm breath tickling his face. "We _have_ no choice. There is no room for advancement from where we are now. We're nothing but mice, and we'll always be mice." She dropped him, and he landed butt-first, tailbone aching.

He glared at her and bushed back the fringe of hair that masked his eyes from view. "You and your pessimistic attitude is why I hate living in this family. If we all thought like that, then yeah, we'll be dirt under everyones' boots. Why do you think I have dreams?"

He got to his feet, brushing off the seat of his shorts as he did so and fixing her with a stubborn look. "I don't care if you stay a nobody for your entire life. I'm going to BE somebody. Screw your mindset." He stomped off, snagging Ryoichi's arm as he went. The last he saw of her was the wounded look on her still childishly round face. And the last thought of her he had that day was that she'd disappointed him.

If only he'd thought to check on her when she didn't show up for dinner that night.

END FLASHBACK

Ryoichi. Another painful memory that he didn't want to think about. Will shook his head and jolted to his feet. A good light jog around the ship would do him well. His shipmates were all snuggled in their beds, but the wood was so thick he'd doubt they'd hear him. He crept up the stairs, shedding his shirt and his boots as he went. The outdoor air was much more inviting than the stuffy indoors, cool and embracing him gently. The faint scent of salt and pepper wafted through the air, odd yet not unpleasant.

He started off at a jog, like he'd thought he'd do. But then every single thought crashed around him like a tidal wave and he went faster. Suddenly it didn't matter to him that his friends were trying to sleep downstairs. Didn't matter that his lungs were begging him for air, or that his calves were aching almost to the point of a double charlie-horse. If he focused on that pain instead of the pain in his head, then surely he would last until the morning sun.

Paz. Mother. Ryoichi. He tightened his ponytail as it started to slip from its place. As a general rule, Will didn't wallow in self pity. Nothing good came of it. They were gone, and 2/3 of them would never come back. He had to accept the things he couldn't change, and change the things he could. Will knew this; but knowing that he needed to stop thinking of them didn't seem to help. The hurt was still there. Every beat of his heart pained him.

They were gone because of him. Because he wasn't strong enough to protect them, 2/3 were dead and 1/3 hated him with the passion of the sun. Anywhere he went seemed to cause chaos. He had yet to feel whole- there was only a short period of time he'd felt like that, years ago, right before everything fell away. He threw himself onto the ground, chest heaving, and saw spots. Maybe he'd over exerted himself. Maybe he was just too sick to be doing this kind of thing.

Weak.

He got up again, ran again. His stomach cramped, the way it always had when he was either crying, or feeling like retching, or a mixture of both. He figured it was a mixture of both when he had to throw himself at the lip of the ship to empty his stomach into the sea and felt the wind cool the tears on his cheeks. Will shuddered, his knees giving out, and let his torso be supported by the Sonata, arms dangling over one side and legs danging over the other.

And then he cried until his gag reflex was activated and he retched, though his stomach was empty and somehow that was worse than anything that had happened recently. Even when his body wanted to throw up, he couldn't even give it that. He wheezed, trying to cry some more, before realizing that those too had disappeared. His stomach muscles loosed over time, and he was able to think more clearly. Something, he realized, he sorely needed.

Eri. Raiden. Del. Father. He sniffed and plopped onto his back on the ship, staring up at the night above. Stars shimmered like beacons in the sky. He'd promised himself he'd protect these people. So that he wouldn't screw up again. Maybe then he'd be worth something. He still had no doubt he'd find Paz- and when he did, his dream would be accomplished. Back then, the only dream he'd had was rule the ocean with an iron fist.

He shifted onto his side, cheek pressed against the rough planks of wood. Smelt like rubber, sweat and lumber. A bit like home. Will allowed a fleeting grin to cross his lips, before he gave in to the exhaustion he'd worked himself into.

Eri tip toed across the deck, and threw the thick blanket over him, making sure it covered his feet. She then cautiously lifted his head, and placed a pillow underneath it. Really, all she'd gone up to do was get a glass of water- but she figured she could do this. It looked like Will had kinda sorta cracked.

Eri didn't blame him. If she'd lost her sister, and whoever it was in that picture, she'd lose herself soon enough. She was sort of surprised he'd lasted as long as he had. Though, she couldn't imagine herself working out to escape her worries. 'Hey, to each their own,' she thought in slight amusement, and went back down the stairs, without her glass of water.

* * *

**A/N I didn't like this chapter, to be honest. Like, at all. But whatever. As always, R+R**

***- Shikamaru is a ninja from Naruto**


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN: Cal: The Firecracker of the Baratie!

_I'm on the frontline,_  
_Don't worry I'll be fine,_  
_The story is just beginning._

_I say goodbye to my weakness,_  
_So long to the regrets,_  
_And now I know that I'm alive._

* * *

Eri was happy. Unearthily so, considering the path that Del had set them on. "I'm not your friggin' navigator," she'd insisted, right after she'd screamed, "Turn RIGHT, not LEFT, you INCOMPIDENT INVERTIBRATE!" to Raiden, who'd had the unfortunate job of 'tiller duty' until further notice. "But you're pretty good with navigating. What's so wrong with it?" Eri sang, cheerfully oblivious to the glare her newly dubbed navigator was shooting her.

"I'm an EXECUTIONER, baka. Not a compass." Then, Del glanced hard at said object in her hand and screeched, "DID I SAY YOU COULD RELAX!" Raiden sweatdropped and pushed the lever farther to the right. Del oscillated between glaring at the compass and glaring at Raiden before nodding, satisfied. "Hey, whatever you say. So wait, where are we going again?" Del would've sweatdropped, if she hadn't been on the ship for a month and a half.

Yes, a month and a half. Of screaming at her stupid crewmates, of screaming at her even stupider captain, of nothing but pure sailing. Sure, they'd stopped in a few ports along the way, but Eri was set in her thoughts. She was gearing up to sail the Grand Line, despite their fruitless search for more members. Despite what the two powerhouse members of their crew wanted (i.e, Eri and the idiotic knifesman), Will and Del had managed to keep the (also newly dubbed) NS pirates laid low.

Though, their flag now proudly whipped in the wind- a custom jolly roger, done with metallic paint instead of white. One bone made of Raiden's ever-present #1 knife, the other a senbon needle (that was her's). The skull had a single, staring gray eye (Will), and was topped by Eri's hat. Neo Strawhats indeed.

Del climbed up the stray rope that dangled from the bird's nest, sighing. Will seemed to be her only accomplice on the entire ship. Not accomplice in a bad way, more the opposite. He was the only smart one aboard, and even then, he still had his musclehead moments. Sometimes he acted just as idiotic as the rest of them. Yet she couldn't help but feel a connection with him. He was searching for his sister, she was searching for her memories. Both in the same boat, if she dismissed the pun.

She grabbed the pilot goggles that rested around the cap of her Indiana Del hat (God forbid she forget to name it), and strapped it over her eyes. She hadn't known how bad her eyesight really was until she suddenly ran into a pole in one of the cities they'd visited and Eri'd made her see an optomitrist. Del sweatdropped; she remembered that occassion well, it having been one of here more embarassing moments in her memory.

FLASHBACK:

_"Itaaaiiii..." Del muttered, rubbing her nose. She could practically TASTE the coming headache. Eri was, of course, laughing. "Nahaha, maybe we should take you to the doctor!" Del immediantly jumped to her feet at that and yelled, "HELL NO!" The merchants in the streets turned to stare at her, half-afraid of the short yet mighty girl. Del sweatdropped. "I-I mean, it's really not nescessary..."_

_Raiden and Will put their hands on her shoulder. "That pole was wider around than you. If you can't see it when you're walking normally, what do you think you'll do if you're in a fight?" Raiden reasoned calmly, though his eyes were dancing. "Are you afraid of the doctors or something?" Eri wondered, blinking blankly. "Well, why don't we find out?" Will suggested, eyeing her wickedly. This was, of course, one of his musclehead moments._

_"Yep!" Eri agreed immediately, and with the boys help, tugged her towards a squat brownstone building at the edge of the village. The nicest building in the area, if it were up to Del. Though she immediately felt repulsed by it. "U-Uhm, maybe we can come back later?" she tried. Eri just laughed and gripped her hand tighter, as if daring her to try to run. Raiden pushed open the door with a flourish, announcing, "My friend is as blind as a bat!"_

_Eri stared. "Bats don't have eyes, Rojin-kun..." Raiden threw her an irritated look, flicking up his eyebrows. "Not the baseball kind, the animal kind," he corrected tersely. The woman behind the front desk, dressed in regular nurse apparel, eyed them like they were criminals. Which they were, but it was still rude. "I'll...set up an appointment?" she mumbled questioningly._

_One night and one eye exam later, Del was picking through a wall of eyewear in a shop that looked every bit as sterile outside as it did inside. All of the frames looked ugly to her, and ON her, and she was just about to give up hope when Will flung something in her direction. She caught it and stared. "Swim goggles?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "No, they're glasses. You can put them on your hat and you won't have to wear them all the time," he explained._  
_Del ended up buying those goggles, and never regretted it. They all lived happily ever after, the end._

END FLASHBACK

Okay. It hadn't worked out all that splendidly. Paperwork was a bitch, the fine was bigger than the lease of a house, and Eri was so goddamn adamant that they spend no more than five hundred beli that they'd ended up staying there for four hours. Del had made sure the captain paid for that later.

"I see... a fish?" she yelled, narrowing her eyes. It literally looked like a huge fish, just floating in the middle of nowhere. But there was something artificial about it. "OOO! DINNER!" Eri whooped in excitement. "No wait... it's a... restraunt?" Indeed, its sign had come into focus. 'Baratie'. "Sounds italian," she remarked to herself. "OOO! DINNER!" Eri repeated, every bit as loud as the last time. Raiden, who'd escaped 'tiller duty', knocked her on the head, his fist making the hit audible.

"I"M GONNA BE DEAF BY THE TIME WE REACH THE GRAND LINE!" he roared. Del sweatdropped, 'does he realize his own voice was louder than her's?' "I'm hungry! Let's stop there, ne?" Will said, appearing from below with a wet head and his clothes pulled haphazardly over his body. The blue haired executioner dropped to the deck below, barely wincing as her ankles protested, and said, "I agree. And also, your shirt's inside out."

Will politely turned around to fix the problem.

"Anyway, we'll be there in like, five minutes," she announced, turning away with her ears tinged red. What? She liked what she liked, and those shoulder bladeswere definately a LIKE. "Well I better go get my eatin' pants on!" Eri exclaimed, and dashed away, kicking up a dust cloud in her wake. Raiden sighed in annoyance. "Her 'eating pants'?" he mumbled, rubbing his temples. "How come you wear that hat all the time?" Del blurted.

And to her surprise, Raiden glared at the ground, his cheeks turning an angry shade of pink. "...Bad haircut." Not without deliberation, he lifted his hat for a nanosecond, revealing silver hair that was growing out at awkward angles. It was still short enough to be considered a buzz, but long enough for its choppiness to be evident. He slapped the hat down again as Will finished with his shirt. Del chuckled. Who knew that the supposed 'cool as a cucumber' knifesman could be so shy?

"Ah, we all get screwy haircuts from time to time," she empathized, shooting Will a wink. He just gazed curiously at Raiden's hat, as if wishing it off. The back of his head didn't actually look all that awkward, and it didn't even hint at anything amiss on the top. "Am I the only one without a hat?" he muttered. "Take pride in your lovely tresses, Chero. Because our captain sure doesn't." Raiden was right.

Eri had chopped off at least half her head of hair, leaving it almost boyishly short, about two weeks ago. "It gets in the way," she'd complained, before going at it with the scissors in the kitchen. "I GOT MY EATIN PANTS ON!" Eri announced, exploding from the door. She wore an oversized black tee that hung from her shoulders, probably Raiden's, and large gray sweatpants that she was busy tying tighter, probably Will's.

"God forbid she wear her own clothing," Raiden muttered under his breath, shooting her a look that went unseen. T'was true- before, she'd been in Del's striped tank and Raiden's khaki shorts. It seemed she just didn't like her own wardrobe. And the clothing that WAS in the trunk under her hammock, Del had found, didn't include a single pair of shoes. Eri was barefoot even now, but thankfully her toenails weren't caked with dirt. Del had sheared them close enough to where no dirt would ever be able to hide not a week before.

It seemed like Del herself was the babysitter. Usually it would be Eri- sometimes Raiden. She found she had nothing to do with Will- he took care of himself like he was used to it. Which she was grateful for- two five year olds was enough. Especially when one of them was a boy, whom she blatantly refused to remind to bathe, even though he usually needed to. Eri was easy enough to keep clean- though she was more tomboyish than anyone she'd ever met, Eri was still even a TAD feminine, however buried deep in her soul that may be.

Yes, she didn't smell like a sewer. And neither did Raiden- he smelled like seawater, having taken it upon himself to deep-sea dive for a fish dinner yesterday. Del was perfectly clean- a bath every other day. She cared about her own upkeep. Nobody would ever peg her as a pirate- sure, she dressed in dark clothing, but she was small enough to not look like a threat. Nobody would think she was an assassin.

However greenhorn-ish an assassin she was.

Del was jerked out of her thoughts when Eri announced, "FOOOOOOOOD!" The girl was jumping excitedly on the figurehead, doing a little jig while she was at it. The Baratie bobbed ahead of them, much larger than what it had been when she spotted it earlier. Raiden and Will were rushing around, tying up the sail and throwing anchor before the ship crashed into the place. Del tore her goggles from her eyes, letting them hang around her neck. She hated the red rings that appeared if she wore them too long.

The NS pirates jumped down onto the Baratie with excitable smiles. Or at least, most of them. Raiden was just as broody as ever. "I AM SOOOOOOO HUNGRY!" Eri announced, waltzing in. Richly clad people glanced up in shock, their utensils halfway to their mouths. Some of them scrunched their noses in disgust, some quickly looked away in recognition, and some simply stared. A rather old man materialized in front of them.

"Come, come!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together and ushering them between tables. They arrived at one near the back, set with expensive looking diner wear and a large blue candle flickering in the center. Eri threw herself down into a chair, her crew following suit. "Well, you just read over this menu and decide what you want," the man said, passing out four leather-clad menus and disappearing, an odd look on his face.

Del decided on the dumpling soup. Because partly, she liked dumplings. And partly, she was on a diet. Eri was pointing to various things and mumbling, "Want that, that... that, and OOO, that.." under her breath. Raiden and Will were deadpanning, though she could see their eyes pop at the high prices. Del smiled secretly, patting her pocket lovingly. She had enough money to cover everyone's meals, though she wouldn't tell THEM that. It'd took forever to get this much money.

Instead of the waiter from before, a different person appeared. She was tall and lean, clad in a standard black suit with a white shirt underneath. Her shoes were polished men's loafers. She wore white gloves on her hands, and somehow reminded Del of a butler. There was something oddly strong about the conviction in her stormy blue eyes, the set to her jaw and the way her lips were clasping her cigarette. The way she wore her hair, pulled into a half-assed braid that allowed a few shaggy locks to escape, suggested a sort of laziness that Del only wished she herself had.

"Well?" she demanded tersely, removing the cancer stick from her mouth to speak. She tucked it behind her ear, blonde bangs immediately parting for it. "Well what?" Eri asked, confused. "WELL, have you figured out what you're going to order?" the girl ground out, her one visible eyebrow twitching. "OH! Yeah." Eri showed her the menu, and pointed to various pictures. The girl's eyes bulged, and for a moment, she looked like a fish out of water.

The next moment, she was scribbling hurridly in a notepad with a short pencil, hand moving too fast for her to see. "And the rest of you?" she prompted, flexing the hand. "I want the dumpling soup," Del piped up. The girl looked a tad relieved at the normal order, and flicked her eyebrows up at the boys. They said in unison, "Pansotti alla genovese." Then shot eachother rivalric glares. "I want the venison ke-babs," they growled.

"Buridda!" they shouted, shoving from the table to go forehead to forehead, cracks of blue electricity eminating from their eyes. In one smooth movement, the once-writing waitress conked them in the heads with her elbows. The force was enough to have them sprawled on the floor, out like a light. Her nose twitched in irritation, and she seemed not to notice the admiring look that Eri was shooting her. "Keep your voices down in my restraunt, or I'll let you all sink to the ocean floor," she threatened, staring at the two girls as if they'd done something as well.

"Now, now, Calandra*, what did I say about starting fights in the restraunts?" The three girls simultaniously whipped around, to find a tall man towering over them with a wicked glint in his eye. He looked suspiciously like the blonde girl. The blond girl, or Calandra, glared, her hands disappearing into the waistband of her dresspants. When they emerged, they held two rather large handguns. She took aim, but before she could shoot...

The man's leg arched up and smashed down on her head with a resounding 'KLUNK'. The girl wavered, and almost seemed like she was going to make it, but wilted to the floor after a moment. The blonde man sighed, shaking his head. "If she fought like I taught her to, maybe she'd be able to last," he tsked, then his eyes fell on them. His eyes grew into hearts, and he pounced like a jungle cat, hands curling around both of their shoulders as he ducked his head in between them.

"I'm sorry my poor daughter was causing a ruckus. Are you two lovelies alright?" he cooed. Del's mind instantly screamed, 'PERV ALERT!' Eri just raised her eyebrows. "You're that guy," she said, not bothering to elaborate. 'That guy' leaned back, eyes now narrowing in suspicion.

"You know me?" he asked, crossing his arms. Eri dug around in her pocket a moment, before unveiling the crinkled old photo she'd shown Zoro before. Eri offered it up. The man glanced at them, and gave it back, eyebrows raised. "Figures. The first really beautiful ladies I get this morning and one of em just HAS to be related to that idiot," he muttered, throwing a dirty look at the wall as if it'd disgraced him.

Calandra now jumped to her feet, shaking a fist at the man. "Don't CALL me CALANDRA! It's just Cal, get it? C-A-L!" The blond man didn't spare her a look, and thumped down into a chair across from them. "Please pardon my dear charge. She's a bit loud sometimes. I assume you're here to take her off my hands?" The girls stared in syncronization. "HOW DO YOU KNOW THEM, GODDAMN IT!" Cal demanded, shaking his shoulders from behind.

The blond man reached up and flicked her in the forehead. "Well, one of em's the daughter of a guy I used to sail with," he explained. "And you just want them to TAKE ME OFF YOUR HANDS? I don't even KNOW them! They could be PIRATES, or something!" Obviously, Cal was blind to the show she was putting on for the other patrons. Suddenly, Raiden's #5 blade was biting into the flesh of her neck, and she was rendered immobile.

Blond man just watched the exchanged with an amused smile. "We are pirates. And YOU, just gave me a major headache." Raiden's drawling voice was low and cold, the kind he adapted when he was annoyed, but not necessarily mad. "P-PIRATES!" she squeaked, frozen. "I told you I used to be one, didn't I?" her evident father looked honestly confused. "NO!" Raiden's blade crept closer to her neck, biting into the skin just enough to crack the surface.

A small droplet of blood rolled down her pale neck and disappeared under her pristine white shirt. Her eyes seemed deathly calm as she spun and went at him with the triple blade of one of her sai. Raiden jumped back, a cocky smirk on his face. He was rearing to charge and set her in her place when Will came in, ducked low to the ground. His legs swished under Raiden's, and he toppled to the ground. Will popped up, giving Raiden an irriated look. "No fights in the restraunt," he critisized. "Ah! See, those're the moves you should be using, Calandra! Tell me, who taught you, kid?" The blond man looked honestly excited. "...My sister?" Will answered hesitantly. "Well, anyway. I take it you're NOT here to relieve me of the brat?"

* * *

The Baratie closed at midnight, and only the NS pirates, Sanji, and Cal remained. The orange sky turned an inky black, and stars popped up brightly, yet still they stayed and conversed at the table. "I honestly had no idea you'd be here," Eri confessed, chugging some kind of juice from her glass. Sanji, who's name Del had learned hours before, waved a hand. "Small world, huh? Anyway. I know you might not be looking for anybody at the moment-" Before he could finish, Eri interrupted with a, "Hell yeah we are. We're goin' to the Grand Line. Any help would be nice."

"-but I need you to take Calandra with you," Sanji finished. "Oh, that's good. Calandra, pack," he commanded. The blond girl snapped her cigarette in half and smashed it into the carpet as she flung up from her seat. "I don't even know these people! Why the hell would I want to leave HERE? I have everything I need-" Sanji glared at her, stopping her in her tracks. "That's complete bull, and you know it. You've told me all the time that you, 'just can't wait to find the All Blue like Dad did!'. So don't sit and blatantly lie to me when really, you're scared out of your wits."

Cal fell silent for a moment, cheeks flushed in embarassment and frustration. "How the HELL would YOU know ANYTHING?" she burst out, before speeding away her destination being the spiral staircase that led to the kitchen. Sanji was lax in his seat for a moment, taking deep breaths, before he shot off and followed her, yelling a, "Stay put!" over his shoulder.

She ignored the tears that dropped on the cutting board as she peeled the skin of the shrimp in her hands. A large discarded pile of the same thing was steadily climbing in the corner of the cutting board as she put the meaty part into the green mixing bowl at her elbow. Cooking had always been a... lifeline, so to speak, of her's. When she was happy, she baked cookies, pies, or cakes. When she was content, she made any entree and raced her father, though he always seemed to win. When she was sad, she skinned shrimp.

There wasn't anything more calming than peeling shrimp after shrimp, and mixing them into some delicious soup, or inserting them into summer rolls, or mixing them in with her famous gumbo, or perhaps substituting the octopus in takoyaki for the prawn. An endless bin of the dead critters was at her hip, which was easily accessable- she didn't even have to bend over. "You're sullying the meat," a voice chastised behind her. The gentle rolling voice of her father that always used to sooth her.

This was not one of those times.

Her shoulders tensed and she nearly dropped the shrimp in her hands. "Not like they'll ever make the table," she muttered, dropping the sucessfully squashed piece of meat into the bowl. The Baratie was known for Sanji, and Sanji only- though he was known simply as 'Chef' to save him from assassins. Her food only met the lips of the workers, and even though the insisted that each meal was just as good as Sanji's, it hurt. Hurt to know that the food she worked so hard to prepare, the recipes that she'd followed painstakingly and memorized as per her father's orders, would never see the light of day.

"Come, now. You know everyone loves your cooking," her father said, watching over her shoulder as she worked. "Or perhaps they're just afraid that you'll stomp them into next Wednesday if they don't say it tastes damn amazing. Never will we know, eh?" she spoke bitterly. Sanji remained silent. "Look. I can't lie and say that someone other than Chef added the finishing touches. The patrons out there don't know about your cooking technique- if they did, they'd ask for you too."

Cal whirled on him, shrimp flopping forgotten onto the cutting board. "I've followed EVERY recipe. You say everything's just perfect. How the HELL would they know the difference?" she snapped, raising her voice. At Sanji's warning look, she exhaled loudly and returned to the prawn. "That's not even what I'm mad about AT THE MOMENT. Why the hell do you want me off your hands so bad?" It'd hurt when he'd stated that so casually. When it was the first thing that popped into his mind.

She was his DAUGHTER. Shouldn't he WANT to spend time with her? "Personally, I'd love to keep you here and never let you go," Sanji confessed bluntly. She shot him a suspicious look. He didn't seem to be lying. "But I know that in your heart, the SEA is where you belong. It was where I did, as well. I had so much fun, made so many memories. I just don't want you to lose that. I don't want you to not accomplish your dreams, because if you're anything like me, you sure as hell want to get out of here more than you want to stay."

Cal gazed sullenly down at her dripping hands, not bothering to pick up another sea creature. She shifted to the sink, and her father annoyingly followed her, watching her clean off her hands under the steaming hot water. He seemed to read her mind. Sure, she would LOVE to stay and make food and live with the people she loved, but there was something in her heart that died every time her food didn't pass the employee workroom. Something that ached to leave and have other people experience her food, tell her honestly that it was the best thing they'd ever tasted and hey, could she make some more?

The All Blue was just a bonus. Her father had already told her that it was there, somewhere. Hadn't told her where, but he'd been there, and he said it was wonderful. What else could be better than every delicacy in the sea gathered in one place? "Give me one good reason why I should go." She turned to stare him down. Sanji looked taken aback for a moment, before grinning that childish grin. "Go grab the onions," he ordered.

Cal was nervous. Oh, so nervous, though she kept her expression schooled into a look of apathy as they descended the stairs, two platters to each person. The Neo Strawhats were still there, thankfully, though Eri and Raiden had passed out and the other two looked on the verge. At the scent that wafted towards their noses, the four jumped to attendance, staring at them in apprehension.

"I give you... shrimp dejonghe, as an apology for keeping you waiting," Sanji announced, making Cal flush and glare at the back of his head. "That's not what we agreed on saying," she grumbled under her breath. They plopped a dish in front of each pirate, and barely took their hands away before they were digging into the cassarole. The blond duo sweatdropped and exchanged looks. "Well, I guess they DID come here for food..." she mumbled.

Cal could feel her heart warming as the food steadily disappeared from the plates. The plan was simple. Cal was to make the cassarole with no help, and they'd bring down the food without announcing who made it. If they congratulated Sanji on a job well done, than she was packing her bags and leaving. Pretty clever. Soon enough, everyone's plates were empty, and they were silently (and rudely) proffering the dishes with expectant glances.

Sanji winked at her and took the plates, diving away to refill them. It was a good thing she'd made enough to feed a small army. Hey, they didn't vocally ask for more, but it was close enough. She hid a grin by lighting a cig and clapping it between her lips. The people before her looked wide awake now, and they were staring at her, concern and curiousity mingling in their eyes. Her heart stuttered again. Concern? "You're alright, right? You ran off really quick," Eri said suddenly, pushing her eyebrows together. Cal waved a hand and said, "I'm fine."

Sanji returned with more momentarily, and yet again, the food disappeared. The knifesman stretched his arms behind his head in a yawn, and said, "As expected of the Baratie." The others nodded in agreement. "Y'know, I don't really like shrimp. But that was awesome," Del said, patting her stomach with a look of contentment. "Couldn't have made it better myself," Will confessed. "Mnhm," Eri grunted, raising her plate again.

Needless to say, Eri was suddenly ground to her neck into the floor with her knifesman brandishing his fist above her. "We're not MADE of money, Stupideri!" he growled, veins bursting in his head. Del leaned away from him with a scared expression. "Itaaaai...headache," Eri grumbled, ripping her arms up and thus causing more damage to the floorboards. She emerged from the hole and casually pushed his leering form away.

"Yeah, we're not made of money, Naifu. So why'd you do that." Will pointed at the hole, raising his eyebrows. Raiden looked taken aback for a moment before glaring in the opposite direction, a furious blush rising to his face. Del pushed back her seat and slugged him in the face, hard enough that he flew back and crashed into a lump yards away. "I'm surrounded by goddamn IDIOTS." Del sent an angry look towards her other companions, as if daring them to do something else.

Sanji and Cal once again exchanged looks. Sanji's eyes were dancing in mirth, and Cal was more like staring in shock. "Ah, don't worry about it. On the house, and my daughter does more damage than this to the Baratie." Del relaxed out of her stance and sent them a relieved smile. "So can I sleep here cause I'm kinda going to sleep now..." Eri's voice mumbled. She'd seated herself across two of the chairs, face-down, and didn't look like she'd ever move again.

Will, who'd been watching the exchange quietly, merely crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back, closing his eyes. "I'll be seeing you in the morning," he said, before going limp. Del sweatdropped. "...How..." she mumbled. Raiden didn't look like he was going to get up either, probably taken out by Del's fist. "I guess we've got no choice here..." Sanji said, and wrapped an arm around Cal, pulling her away.

He spared Del a look as the two blondes left. "You should get some shut eye too," he advised. As soon as they were out of sight, Del took off her hat, and flopped onto the floor. "Good idea," she murmured. It would be nice to have an actual bed, but she was too tired to care.

* * *

They were awoken by footsteps. Staff waking up in their rooms and hustling about above their heads. Eri stood up and cracked her back, wincing. That wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep in the world. She was only slightly surprised to see that Will and Del were already awake, sipping on some kind of brown substance that looked like coffee. They nodded their heads in syncronization towards the knifesman, still balled up on the floor.

"Wake him up," Del commanded. Eri scrunched her eyebrows. "Why didn't you guys do it?"

The crewmates exchanged looks.

"He tried to shear off my head when I tried," Del confessed.

"I value my limbs, thank you," Will added. Eri sighed, and trudged over. She kicked him in the stomach. "Oi." He grunted, and turned over. "Oi." Again. Same results. "Oi." Raiden's fingers grabbed hold of one of his knives, and he slashed awkwardly outwards. "Goddamn. Keepyafeettoyerself," he mumbled, narrowly missing Eri's shin. The captain giggled, "Up, Rojin-kuuuuun." She kicked, again.

His slated eyes popped open to blearily glare at her. "The fuck you doin' in our side uh- the ship," he slurred, striking out again with his knife. Eri nimbly dodged, grinning blithely. "We're not on the ship," she told him. With a glazed look in his eye, Raiden looked around for the first time. "Oh." The knifesman struggled to his feet and sheathed his weapon. Will and Del were crouched behind the table, watching him with wary eyes. "You're very brave, Eri-sama," they chorused.

Ten minutes of vegitating around later, the first few people trailed down, in various stages of wakefulness. They took one look at the pirates and started shrieking something about robbers. "Scum! The Baratie doesn't open until ten!" The door greeter from yesterday growled, hand twitching into the pocket of his apron. Del saw a glint of metal, before she was pushed to the ground. Something whistled by her ear not a millisecond later.

Eri released her protective grip on her executioner and sent the greeter a venomous glare. A thin cut along the side of her cheek made it evident that she'd narrowly escaped the weapon as well. "What's this about, so early in the morning? Eh?" Cal stomped down the stairs in her duck pajamas, pillow creases on her face and her blonde hair sticking up in tufts. She sent the greeter an irritable glare, who seemed to unconsciously shiver.

Cal stared at the knife imbedded in the wall, to her new (and furious) acquaintences, to the man. "The hell you been throwin knives for?" she grumbled. The greeter stuttered, "W-Well, t-these pirates b-broke in, a-and..." he trailed off at the withering look she gave him. "You seriously think my dad and I would've slept through a break-in?" Cal strode past Will, and tugged the knife free. She tomahawked it back to the greeter.

"Trust me, these idiots can't find their way out of a paper bag. They're harmless," she said, mind flitting back to the brawl the night before. Del was the only half-sensible person in their crew, she decided. "I resent that! Don't you agree, captain?" Raiden protested, nudging Eri roughly. The captain, who was inattentively making two random forks go to war, just jumped in surprise and blinked.

"Yeah, what he said," she said hastily, twining the tongs of the forks together and making small roars under her breath. 'Point proven,' Cal thought.

The door was wide open, held so with heavy concrete blocks. Outside, it was the perfect weather- a clear sky, with a slight breeze. "A perfect day for customers," Cal mumbled under her breath, wheeling her suitcase down the stairs with annoying thumps. So why was nobody coming? The sight that greeted her eyes wasn't what she'd expected. Her father was seated at a table, waiters crowded around, with a DenDen Mushi held aloft.

"...direct course...stay safe..." she only caught bits and pieces, but it was enough to go on. Sanji had connections with people all over- which means, if there was trouble brewing in his neck of the woods, he got warnings. It'd helped them alot in the past, though they hadn't gotten a call like this in a long time. Cal leaned her suitcase against the wall and shouldered through the crowd of people to look over her father's shoulder.

He was writing the message down, a paper coated with his hasty chicken scratch. "You have terrible handwriting," Cal said under her breath. His face was deep in thought, worry etched into his eyes. Uh oh. The last time he looked that freaked out was when she was seven and one of the Eleven Supernovas paid a visit. Over a decade ago.

He muttered a quick, "I see. Thank you," and hung up. Eri materialized beside Cal, looking mildly intrigued. "Party planning?" she guessed. Sanji shook his head, and the sky seemed to darken outside the windows as he said, "We're being targetted. By the Lupus pirates."

* * *

**A/N: I'm seriously considering having the Lupus pirates turn into werewolves at the full moon. Also, note that the song choice sucked. I had literally no clue what to set this to so obviously, Diamond Eyes was the go-to song. *Sarcasm***

***Calandra: means 'skylark' in italian. I've been watching too much KHR!... R+R please?**


	8. SHORT HIATUS

**So as of now this is the second week and I've had a writer's block for this story. I've been doing... other things... and haven't gotten around to updating it yet. I'm only human, so do please keep watching out. I'd come up with some elaborate excuse like, "I moved to Iceland, it was really hectic" if I believed in lying to people, but I don't. As of now I'm creating a DRRR! fic, and am on the... er, third chapter? I've got one chapter for Death Note, and am trying my hand at OHSHC. Hopefully once I get all these other anime things out of my head I'll be able to focus more on this fic, but as of now I'll have to announce a short hiatus. Sigh. It's really depressing. Don't loose faith, though- I'll get back in the spirit soon.**

**~Ecanus**


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